For Too Long
by Velace
Summary: Six Months after their return to the Enchanted Forest, Regina and Emma have developed an odd sort of friendship. Regina is the Advisor to King and Queen (Charming and Snow) and Emma Swan is a... less than traditional Princess who disappears for weeks on end with the once Evil Queen.
1. Chapter 1

**Author Note:** Hey I proved I can finish them, so why not. Honestly though, I like this and that is extremely rare for me so... enjoy.

* * *

"Miss Swan."

Emma stared down at the parchment in front of her, brow creased in concentration. Paperwork in the Enchanted Forest was somewhat more confusing for the Sheriff. Apparently, it wasn't bad enough that she had to write with a quill, now everyone had reverted back to their old persona's and had started using English that wasn't exactly commonplace where she came from; reading it was a pain in the a—

"Emma?"

Her head snapped up and her eyes brightened at the sight of Regina. On most days, the best she could hope for was not to have a headache by the time she returned to the Palace. On an even better day, which were far more rare, she would be whisked away from the daily grind and be shown something new, something interesting—and potentially dangerous—because Regina would come to her and request her help.

"Hey," she said. "What's up?"

"I'm not interrupting anything important am I?" Regina stepped into the room and closed the door; a pleased smile on her face due to the fact Emma seemed relieved by her presence.

"I suppose that would depend on who you ask," Emma admitted as she dropped her quill. No doubt the paperwork was important to the Kingdom, the King and Queen—better known as her parents—in particular. "But since you asked me, I'm going to have to say; Hell no. Please save me."

Regina glanced down at the parchment as she came and stood by the blonde. "Still struggling with understanding the language?" she asked and the question was one of genuine curiosity; she had helped the blonde on numerous occasions and was more than happy to do so again.

"Uh no," Emma drew the negative out, her tone taking on a mild poshness that caused a grin to appear on dark lips. "The language I am perfectly fine with. There is, however, a fine line between eloquent and obnoxious that some people haven't seemed to grasp. Some of the words they use are so obscure that I had to go and ask Belle for a fricken dictionary just to sign my name on a piece of paper."

"I don't imagine that went well for you," Regina chuckled and the annoyed huff next to her was all the answer she needed.

"Seriously, why the hell aren't dictionaries a thing here? You all just grew up knowing the meaning of every single word in existence?"

Shaking her head, Regina sat on the edge of the desk and crossed her legs at the knees. The move caused the split of her dress to reveal a significant portion of an olive toned thigh, which neither of them missed though both pretended to ignore—one more capable than the other. "Literacy was much less common here than in your world, mostly it was the nobility who learned to read and write," she explained. "I imagine something similar existed at one point but as far as I know, the only way to discover the meaning of a word you didn't understand was to find someone much older and simply ask. I honestly think some of the tutors that were around when I was a child were older than dirt itself."

"Look at you using comparisons I understand," Emma grinned and Regina laughed softly, patting the blonde's shoulder with a fondness that, to most would seem strange, but had become one of many familiar gestures between them. Emma was merely thankful she hadn't patted her on the head, which she found rudely condescending and knew Regina only did so when she felt like irritating her.

Six months in the Enchanted Forest, feeling as though they were both outcasts in their own way, and with numerous adventures together under their belts, friendship had been a natural next step in their shared experiences. Henry was overjoyed that his mother's preferred teasing each other now instead of fighting, and the two of them were comfortable with their developing relationship, neither all that used to the feeling of being understood and accepted to the extent they understand and accept one another.

"So," Emma started as she stretched, raising arms above her head and forcing her shirt to ride up her stomach. A tongue darted from a mouth to wet lips and she smiled to herself, mouth forming a thin line once chestnut eyes rose to meet emerald once more. "Was there something you needed, or did you just miss me?"

"Oh yes," Regina drawled, tone mocking as she continued. "I had hoped to find you shovelling food into your gaping maw when I stopped by, the sight always sends my heart a flutter—and your outfits, oh my, how could _I_ possibly survive an entire day without missing _you_, Miss Swan."

Slapping a hand to her chest, Emma feigned surprise, fingers hooked over her heart as though it were about to burst from her chest. "Oh Regina, your words leave me breathless with desire; if only you weren't twice my age, we could wed on the morrow and share our love with the world."

There was a gasp, followed by the sound of a hand hitting flesh and Emma laughed as she rubbed her arm. Narrowing her eyes at the blonde, Regina informed with no small amount of haughtiness, "Biologically, I am less than six years your senior, Miss Swan and I thank you not to bring up my age—ever again."

"Fine fine," Emma replied. Her voice lowered an octave and she openly leered at the brunette as she added, "You certainly don't look your age, Your Majesty." She leaned back in her seat and grinned as the comment caused widening eyes to darken slightly.

Regina cleared her throat and looked away. "The scouts discovered another cave," she answered Emma's earlier question, ignoring the heat in her cheeks and—other areas. "I informed your mother I would be taking you with me to have a look, as I know how you detest being cooped up in an office for so long."

"See now, there's the woman I know loves me." Emma wagged her eyebrows and stood, patting the brunette's thigh with affection. Her hand lingered a little longer than it probably should have, but neither acknowledged it as Regina joined her and they made their way out of the room.

Their walk from the Barracks to the Palace was silent. In private, they were friends who might, on occasion, blur the lines between flirting and downright foreplay, but amongst the general populace, one was the Queen's Advisor while the other was the Princess, heir to the White Kingdom. Granted she dressed like a Prince, swore like a Pirate and ate like a starved street urchin, but she was the Princess nonetheless and appearances were—as her mother reminded her constantly—important.

As soon as the doors opened to permit them in to the Great Hall, Emma spun on her heel and—a hand clasped her forearm, thwarting her escape attempt as nails dug into flesh and she winced. "Leave me to suffer this alone and I will claw your eyes out," Regina threatened.

Emma whined in the back of her throat and reached for the hand, prying it from her forearm as she turned back around. She linked their arms and plastered a smile on her face upon seeing her mother approaching them, keeping her voice low as she asked out of the corner of her mouth, "How far away is this damn cave?"

"Quite the distance, I'm afraid." Regina murmured, resisting the twitch of her lips caused by the responding groan as she inclined her head to the Queen. "Snow, Emma was just telling me how much she appreciates all this trouble you've gone to; you really needn't throw such an extravagant party to see us off."

Snow beamed and Emma tried—so hard, in fact, that a throb started to form behind her eyes—to resist the eye roll that came despite her best intentions. "You'll both be gone much longer than you usually are," she said. "I simply wanted to give everyone the opportunity to wish you both well, and to remind my darling daughter how many people would appreciate she not do something stupid to get herself killed."

"I love you too, mother," Emma deadpanned before she dragged Regina over to the tables lined with food.

"That wasn't very Princess-like, dear," Regina practically purred the words into her ear and Emma wrinkled her nose in distaste, even as a shiver shot down her spine.

"Keep that up," she warned, piling enough food on her platter to feed at least three fully-grown men. "And I'll spread a rumour about how you have to keep visiting the tailor because you're getting fat."

Regina chuckled and stole a slice of apple as she replied, "Do that and I'll tell everyone it's because you got me pregnant."

"You pregnant..." Emma hummed, head tilting at the thought. Leading them to a table, she shook her head and sighed wistfully. "Nope, you'd be far too attractive; I'll need to think of a different rumour."

The hand that had dug painfully into flesh only moments earlier gently squeezed her bicep before Regina disentangled their arms and took her seat. Emma smiled as she sat down in the chair next to her, placing her food on the table in the space between them. There was a reason she often took more than she needed and as she beckoned the servant with the wine over, she watched from the corner of her eye as Regina plucked a grape from the platter and popped it into her mouth.

* * *

It had taken somewhere between two to three hours before Snow would let them leave, and the only reason it didn't take longer was because Regina lost her temper and demanded the woman stop fussing. Emma thought it amusing at the time, but ever since then it had been quiet and though they could sometimes spend an abnormal amount of time around one another in complete silence, the brunette was generally, and unnaturally, talkative whenever they went on one of their trips.

Having lasted the better part of an hour, she sighed and glanced sideways at her. As lost in thought as Regina appeared, Emma knew better and there was barely a minute before their eyes met. Regina nudged her horse closer and Emma grinned. "Her smothering doesn't really bother you that much, does it?"

Regina frowned. "There was a time when I likely would have set her on fire for it," she said, smile curling her lips. "But no, your mother is the least of my concern. You remember the encampment we found a few months ago—the one with the book?"

Emma nodded. She remembered how she felt when one of the men they were travelling with had stumbled across it, the waves of darkness that rolled off the pages, growing in strength the longer the book had remained open. As Regina's balance in magic, she was the only one able to attend the brunette while she studied it and it had been one of her more harrowing experiences, to say the least.

"The scout that returned this morning said he started having nightmares after he found the cave and I recall a passage in the book that mentioned a talisman that allows the one who wields it to _control the shadows within a mind_," Regina quoted. "I thought it utter gibberish at the time, but now that I think on it, everything he told me seems to point to the possibility that this talisman truly does exist."

Digesting the information, Emma cleared her throat after a moment and with a lopsided smile she asked, "So, uh, why are we going to this cave again?"

"Don't tell me the self-proclaimed badass is scared."

"Terrified actually," Emma admitted without a trace of shame. "When you've been inside my head, then you can tell me it isn't worth wanting to avoid some random weirdo taking control of my dreams."

Inwardly scowling at her thoughtlessness, Regina reached out and placed her hand on the blonde's thigh. "I apologise, I sometimes forget how alike we are at times." Emma inclined her head, accepting the apology and Regina confessed, "I'm not sure I'm looking forward to the return of my nightmares any more than you are." If she could provide her with a way out, she would, but as the only person in the Enchanted Forest with light magic that is compatible with her own, neither of them had much of a choice.

Within the following hour, it started to get dark and Regina lead them to a small clearing a mile or two off the road. Emma set about preparing their camp for the night, while Regina wandered the perimeter and set down a few protections. Most would ward off any animals that might roam too close, while others would alert them both should something—or someone—of a more magical nature come close to stumbling upon them.

When she re-entered the clearing, their tent was all set up and Emma sat cross-legged in front of the fire, head in her hands as she stared into the flames. Regina frowned at the sight, taking her seat beside the blonde who glanced to her briefly and offered a faint smile before her gaze drifted back to the flames. She wanted to ask if something was wrong, but knew by now that Emma would tell her if she wanted to talk about whatever was bothering her.

Waving her hand, she summoned her satchel from her horse's saddle and retrieved the book from within. Another wave and she rolled out the bundle that appeared in her hand between them, revealing bread baked only hours earlier and an assortment of meat slices. No matter what she had on her mind, Regina knew Emma wouldn't be able to resist the chance to eat and as expected, the blonde accepted the sandwich she fixed.

"Thank you," Emma said with a small smile.

Regina picked up her book from beside her as she murmured, "You're welcome." She managed half of her own sandwich and was three pages into her book before Emma spoke again.

"Do you ever think about fate?"

Looking up from the page, Regina hesitated a second or two and then nodded. "When you've lived a life such as mine, fate is a rather difficult subject to ignore," she replied. "So yes, I find that I am often thinking about it."

Emma shifted in her seat and turned her body to face the brunette. "Do you think we follow a specific path, one set in stone that is unchangeable?"

With a sigh, Regina closed her book. She had no clue why Emma was asking about fate, but she answered despite the utter confusion she felt. "As someone who has changed her fate, no, I do not think that."

"You mean the Evil Queen thing?" Emma narrowed her eyes as she asked and Regina chuckled, shaking her head. It amused her that Emma seemed unable to mention her past without wanting to start a fight with someone in her defence. It was endearing, in an odd sort of way; that she wanted to argue with _herself _for daring to ask such a thing.

"No dear," she answered, smirking as Emma's face relaxed with another smile. "I was referring to a period of life before then, in which I almost sacrificed what little freedom I had because 'fate' decided I should be in love with a complete stranger."

"The man with the lion tattoo," Emma said, a derisive sneer contorting her expression. Regina snickered and patted her leg. She had mentioned the story in passing a few weeks after they discovered Robin Hood and his merry men lurking the forests. Emma disliked him almost instantly and never once hid her feelings from Regina.

"Shame he has such a strong aversion to magic," she commented offhandedly, "he's rather cute."

"Ugh," Emma grimaces. "He spits when he talks and smells like moss all the time. Not to mention, he's such a horrible marksman, he needs a magical bow to hit a target. Total loser."

"If I didn't know any better, I'd think you were jealous."

"Please," Emma dismissed with another eye roll. "I bathe regularly, can explode things just by getting angry and I'm _royalty_, not some homeless peasant bandit."

"You forgot that you also look better in leather pants," Regina supplied and Emma nodded.

"I have a great ass," she agreed.

_Indeed, _Regina thought. She hummed, keeping that particular concession to herself as she started to read once more.


	2. Chapter 2

Emma shifted uncomfortably and cracked an eye open. For the time of year, she woke up feeling far too hot and as her vision adjusted, she realised why that was. Regina lay draped half on top of her; head buried in the crook of her neck and for someone so small, she radiated an unusual amount of heat.

"Stop moving," the brunette grumbled and the sound of her voice, combined with the low husk of sleep caused Emma to squirm. Regina huffed, the short puff of hot air against flesh only serving to make the squirming worse. She pushed up on to her hands and glared down at the blonde. "I hate you," she scowled before rolling on to her back.

With a groan, Emma stretched aching muscles and wondered when she had become too old to sleep anywhere she pleased. Yawning, she turned on her side and propped her head up on an elbow. "You can't hate me," she said, "because that would mean at some point you loved me."

Eyes closed, Regina flicked her wrist dismissively and replied, "Five minutes ago, I loved you as my own personal ground barrier—and now I hate you."

Emma pouted and even though she couldn't see it, Regina heard the childish whine in her voice as Emma asked, "Will you love me again if I cook breakfast?"

"As I'd likely develop food poisoning," Regina murmured, beyond amused by the question. "I don't see a chance of that happening."

After a few minutes, there was a sigh. "You suck in the morning," Emma declared, standing and dropping the fur that had covered her for the night on top of the brunette.

Regina snorted. "In the evening, sometimes in the afternoon too," she agreed and what she meant dawned on Emma instantly.

"That isn't what I…" She trailed off with a huff and stared down at her, and the longer she was quiet the more prominent the grin Regina wore became. She mumbled something unintelligible and then said, "It is way too early for your nonsense," before she turned and marched out of the tent.

Grinning impossibly wide, Regina chuckled to herself and wrapped her arms around the fur. She waited for a bit, drifting pleasantly in that void between consciousness and sleep, knowing that despite her less than glowing appraisal, Emma would start breakfast once she finished muttering to herself. She had taught the blonde to cook after all, and what better reason to do so than the fact it allowed her to avoid having to wake before she was ready; their son was a growing boy and she hated mornings.

When the scent of meat thickened the air, she sighed and forced herself to stand from the ground. Running fingers through her hair, she glanced around the tent and shook her head at the mess. As much as she would like to blame Emma, neither of them were particularly bothered with cleanliness out in the middle of the forest, though she supposed she _could _blame the blonde for inheriting the level of disinterest the sight invoked.

Nodding along with the thought, she sauntered from the tent. "Emma Swan, you've turned me into a pig," she stated.

The blonde looked up from the fire, eyebrow raised as she questioned, "You mean I _could _have had bacon for breakfast? Damn it."

"Miss Swan!" Regina gasped and widened her eyes for effect, her tone smoothly flowing from surprise to a silken purr as she smirked, "Are you finally coming out of that closet you've been hiding in since we met?" Emma said nothing and as Regina moved closer to the fire, she could see that the blonde's cheeks were reddening and quietly congratulated herself. Twice within a single morning—there was nothing quite like speechless embarrassment to brighten up the start of her day.

As she sat, Regina snatched one of the apples the blonde was holding and sank her teeth into it. Emma's head snapped around to glare at her and she grinned as she chewed. She would likely never admit it aloud, but Emma Swan was adorable when she was pretending to be mad at her; the narrowing of her eyes was practically perfect, but the small twitch at the corner of her mouth gave her away every single time.

Head forward, Regina gazed longingly at the fire as smoke mingled with what she now knew to be stew simmering in the small pot, slowly nibbling away at the piece of fruit clutched in her hand while Emma sat, silent and… contemplative, she supposed was as good a word as any to describe the expression on the blonde's features.

Adjusting to the quiet, with only the sounds of wood burning and animals waking, she barely managed to stifle her gasp when Emma's voice sounded loud in her ears. "Why am I friends with you? You're terrible," she said, the humour in her voice; clear enough that Regina considered the question rather than take offense.

She hummed and as she swallowed the last of the apple, she sent the core sailing into the trees and answered, "Because I'm the only friend you have."

"Not true." Emma removed the pot from the fire and placed it on the ground. Regina wondered if she planned to elaborate as she watched the blonde fill their bowls and it was only when Emma passed her one that she said, "Red is my friend."

Shaking her head, Regina snapped her fingers and summoned a flask of coffee; fulfilling her part of a deal they made months ago as she handed it over and replied, "Red is your mother's friend, she doesn't count."

Emma moaned happily, forgetting the brunette for a second in favour of the aroma rising from the mouth of the flask. Coffee wasn't natural to the Enchanted Forest and it was one of the many reasons why she looked forward to their trips.

She noticed Regina staring at her with an eyebrow raised and cleared her throat, searching her brain for what the brunette had said before responding with, "Uh, she was a friend before either of us even knew Snow was my mother, way back during the curse; so she counts."

"Oh so you're saying you have another friend thanks to _my_ curse." Regina smirked as she added, "I suppose I stand corrected on being your only one, my mistake—and you're welcome."

With a sigh and roll of her eyes, Emma murmured, "You are truly…" _terrible, _her mind volunteered at the same time she took a sip from the flask before her mouth finished, "…wonderful."

* * *

Feeling rested and with full stomachs; Emma and Regina packed up their camp and resumed the journey. They kept to the road as much as possible, only changing course once they reached the first village—the people there known for being against the mercy shown to the former Evil Queen. Although most had forgiven Regina, or at least tolerated the fact Snow hadn't executed her upon their immediate return, some had cut ties with the White Kingdom and gone their own separate ways.

Neither of them kept track of how much time passed, nor the miles they travelled. Emma remained silent for the most part, focused on ensuring their continued safety as they travelled. Regina would hum occasionally and Emma swore the tune was familiar, but even after the third time she hadn't placed it.

Truth be told, her inability to figure it out had started to distract her.

By the fourth time, she was ready to tear her hair out and by the fifth, well—their trip finally had something interesting happen and it hadn't required the two of them to start flirting with one another. Regina was halfway through the maddening melody when she cut herself off with an amused snort.

"How droll," she commented and Emma nodded, eyes fixed on the line of bodies up ahead that blocked their path. Rather than turn around and make a break for it—as she thought any sane person would—they slowed their horses and approached the men.

"If it aint the beloved Princess and her pet Evil Queen," one of the men sneered and stepped forward. Regina grimaced while Emma smirked; knowing without a doubt the brunette's reaction was in response to the man's apparent lack of personal hygiene, and not the intended insult.

Regina turned to her, brow raised and humour in her voice. "One would think knowing who we are, they would step aside," she said, completely ignoring the man who growled at her words.

Emma chuckled as she said, "Yes, but then you're assuming they possess the intellect to make that connection." Turning to the man with an arrow pointed straight at the former Queen, her eyes flashed gold and she ripped the bow from his hands, and then launched him through the air. When his body landed within the bushes at the side of the road, she added, "That doesn't appear to be the case."

"Clearly," Regina drawled.

She glanced over the remaining men, noting the fact most of them wore a mixture of expressions, none of which screamed their lives of waylaying travellers was worth the very real threat of those lives ending prematurely. She sniffed her distaste and made no effort to hide her disgust as she raised her voice. "Those of you who wish to survive another day, feel free to abandon this sad excuse of attempted theft and be on your way."

Each man hesitated for only a second before they dropped their weapons and fled, leaving behind the three that remained in front of them. "These must be the one without brains at all," she mused, loud enough for them to hear.

"Uh Willy, maybe we should go," said the shortest of the three.

'Willy' seemed to be the name of the first, and he had apparently decided to ignore his friend. "Maybe I was wrong," he spat. "Maybe the Princess is the Queen's pet instead. You fuckin' her, blondie? Tryin' ta impress her with your lil magic tricks?"

Laughter in her voice, Regina was the one who spoke while the blonde stared at him, utterly baffled by his thought process. "I was merely entertaining myself, but you're doing a fine job of proving that you are indeed the idiot I believed you to be." She made a gesture with her hand and smiled at the sound of Emma's laughter in her ears.

Where the man once stood, sat a stuffed replica of Bobo the clown, and as his friend bent down to retrieve him, the third took that as his opportunity to disappear off down the road. Emma and Regina watched after him, heads tilted, impressed by the man's speed.

"Uh uh," Emma admonished, spotting the short one trying to leave out of the corner of her eye. She made a similar gesture to the one Regina used and froze him on the spot. "I believe attempted theft is considered a crime, more so when the victim is one of royalty."

Regina stiffened in her saddle and quickly looked to the blonde. "Emma," she warned. She knew the sentence such a crime warranted would result in their deaths and while they technically had intended to steal and possibly assault, if not kill them, she thought it more than likely the two—or even the group in its entirety—had learned their lesson.

"Relax," Emma said. "I was just going to warn him what would happen should he or his buddies try this again, but since you've ruined the moment, let's go before that spell wears off and we find out he's secretly the hulk and snaps our necks while you're being all Ms concerned-about-my-goodness Mills."

As Regina tried to blink her way out of the confusion she was responsible for, Emma urged her horse forward along the road, patting the man on the head as she passed him by. There had been a second, miniscule and not worth the breathe Regina used to warn her against it, where she considered transporting the men into one of the cells in the Palace dungeons.

However, Emma knew her parents well enough to know that those men screamed 'bandits' and if one of them had thought they were a threat to her, they wouldn't hesitate to enact punishment without waiting for her to return. Regardless of their ineptitude, their attempt had been foiled before it began and she was content with how she and Regina had dealt with them.


	3. Chapter 3

Staggering from the tent, Emma sobered as the cool air of night slapped her in the face. It had been three days since they left the White Kingdom and although she hadn't believed Regina when she said they were almost there, that changed the moment she fell asleep. If what she dreamed were supposed to be nightmares, life was clearly far too good to her.

"Trouble sleeping?"

Emma gasped, her already rapid pulse speeding up another notch as she closed her eyes. "For shit sakes, woman," she breathed. In and out, hand on her chest as though that would convince her body not to succumb to a heart attack. "First dream-you tries to kill me and now real-you is taking a shot. Did I forget our anniversary?"

Regina snorted. "I believe the day we celebrate when I first tried to _curse _you to _sleep _and most definitely_ did not _try to kill you… is another month or two from now." There was a rustling sound before brightness flared behind Emma's eyelids and she lifted one, spotting the brunette sitting against a tree to her right.

Both eyes opened, Emma walked over and took a seat beside her, draping the furs wrapped around her over them both. "If you plan to jump out of a cake then, all I ask is that you keep your clothes on."

"Well that answers _that_ question," Regina drawled, pulling the fur up to her chin and shuffling a bit closer to the blonde. "I must say, that particular request is rather surprising considering dream-you was insistent that I do the exact opposite; though I don't recall there being a cake…"

Cradling her head in her hands, Emma half-laughed, half-groaned and murmured, "What the hell kind of dreams was that scout having."

Regina laughed softly. "I'm not entirely sure I want to know," she replied. When Emma turned her head with her eyebrow raised, she lowered her voice to an almost whisper and elaborated, "His only company was his horse."

Emma straightened and her head fell back against the tree, face contorting with laughter as she whined, "Oh god, I'm having sudden flashbacks of stumbling across bronies on the internet."

"I would ask, but your tone tells me this is yet another thing I don't want to know," Regina said and Emma nodded, indicating that she was probably right while she continued laughing.

Minutes passed and the two simply sat there for a time, the air between them weirdly comfortable. Emma wondered if perhaps there should be some sort of discussion happening about the rather vivid thoughts that lingered behind once she had awakened, but she wasn't bothered about it enough to be the one who broached the subject first.

It certainly wasn't the first time she'd had X-rated fantasies when it came to the brunette, nor would it be the last. The difference this time around was the fact she remembered actual _feelings _involved and if she knew Regina, which she did, that was not a topic easily broached. She also couldn't be certain if they shared the same experience and if they hadn't, she wasn't ready to spill her heart out—even less so while she was still confused by the revelation that came when she realised she didn't disagree with the things she said within the dream.

Regina sighed next to her and before she could ask, the brunette laid a head on her shoulder. Emma allowed her own to roll to the side and she stared down at her, her confusion doubling as she felt warmth seeping into her chest. Intimacy was hardly uncommon throughout their friendship but in most instances, it occurred while neither was aware of their actions enough to stop it from happening, such as waking up on top of one another every morning without fail.

"Did you mean it?" Regina murmured after a while, voice laced with the imminent threat of sleep.

Emma shrugged lightly, unsure of what she was even referring. She had said many things, generally without thinking of the consequences beforehand. "Probably," she answered anyway, after all she rarely said things she didn't mean, whether it was in the heat of the moment or not.

She felt the slight nod against her shoulder, followed by a deeper sigh and she listened as Regina's breathing evened, humming that dreadful tune as they both drifted off to sleep.

* * *

When they awoke, something had changed. Neither of them could say what it was, but there was something different—an inexplicable feeling of not belonging. Regina tried to explain it away as there being more to the talisman than she remembered, but Emma knew the words for what they were; a bold-faced lie. The longer she spent thinking about it, the less sure she was that even their dream had anything to do with the talisman and the next village they reached wasn't helping to disprove her theory.

Everyone they passed felt strange and not a single one of them spared either woman so much as a glance. Regina had forced her into a cloak, making her swear to keep the hood up at all times and stay close while they made their way through the streets. She tried to eavesdrop on a conversation or two until she realised none of them were speaking English.

"Wait here," Regina commanded as they came to a stop. Emma dropped the reigns as the brunette slipped from her horse and moved across the street, quick, confident strides towards the marketplace. Even from a distance, she could see the shoulders stiffen as the sky opened up and it started to rain.

There was definitely something strange going on.

For the duration of her absence, Emma observed the villagers, suddenly thankful for the cloak that kept most of the rain from soaking through to her bones. Most of them seemed to lead the average, ordinary day life even if they did appear to be the most anti-social group of people Emma had ever seen. Women ushered children back home, men scowled up at the sky as they hauled all manner of things from one end of the village to another.

Searching out the brunette among the people, Emma found her glaring at someone and she followed her line of sight. She blinked, not having noticed the man walking towards her and her eyes darted to Regina who looked ready to tear across the pavement and rip his throat out. Setting her gaze back on the man, she smirked and he paused to look over his shoulder. She chuckled softly a moment later as he then scurried off in another direction entirely.

As his back disappeared from sight, she returned to Regina and smiled as the brunette approached. "If I didn't know any better," she commented once Regina came within hearing distance. "I'd say we were dropped into another dimension."

"Shut up, you imbecile," Regina gritted from between clenched teeth. Emma frowned down at her as she added, "And follow me."

After finding what passed as the stables and handing their mounts to the stable hand, Regina led them to an inn where she paid for a room. Emma continued to frown the whole way, the expression deepening when the innkeeper shot her a creepy smile. There was no discernable reason for it, and the fact it reminded her of Killian had a shudder rippling down her spine. As likeable as she found the pirate, his lecherous side tended to nauseate her.

Ascending the stairs-or rather being pushed up them as though she wasn't perfectly capable, by an insistent hand strategically positioned to provide the greatest velocity with each shove to her back—Emma stood in front of a door while Regina unlocked it, before being shoved once more into the room.

She spun around to glare at the brunette who ignored her, slammed the door and stormed over to the lone window where she started to yank things from a bag Emma had somehow missed up until that point. Figuring whatever reason Regina had for her to be wearing it was no longer valid, Emma lowered her hood and removed the cloak, draping it over a chair before she walked over to the bed and sat down.

As curious as she was, she waited patiently, quiet as she watched the brunette draw runes along the windowpane, the walls, the floor, the door and finally the bed, lips moving silently the entire time. She recognised a few of the symbols, having witnessed the numerous spells Regina often placed around their camps. One in particular stood out; a protection against Evil, which Emma thought amusing and the glare she received for her snort was expected, acknowledged, and as usual, ignored with a Chesire grin.

"It wasn't the talisman," Regina answered the unasked, tossing the bag into the corner and taking a seat next to the blonde.

Emma nodded. "I guessed that when you lied to me this morning," she said, eyebrow raised in challenge as dark eyes snapped to her, the anger sparking and fading in a single blink.

"I didn't want to assume," she explained with a sigh. "I knew when I woke last night that it wasn't the talisman; I just didn't know what it _was _until we entered this village. That man—in the square…"

"You mean the one who ran away when he realised you were seething at him?" Emma grinned as a blush spread across olive cheeks.

"Yes," she replied. "He was a Seeker; someone who finds potential… partners for his Master—or Mistress, in this case."

Emma blinked slowly, trying to understand but fairly certain she didn't. "I'm sorry, what?"

Regina rolled her eyes. "There is a succubus somewhere in the vicinity, Miss Swan and you've caught her interest," she growled, throwing up her hands as she stood. She paced back and forth, watching as Emma's mouth opened and shut before she warned, "Ask me _what_ again and I will slap you."

Emma closed her mouth and pursed her lips, the question on the tip of her tongue. Her brow furrowed as she tried to recall the few things she knew, or at least thought she knew, about succubae. Her face fell as she murmured, "That wasn't you…"

Regina stopped pacing and turned, breathing in deeply through her nose at the devastation on the blonde's features. She cleared her throat. "That isn't entirely true," she stated, tuning out the voice in her head screaming for her to shut the hell up as she returned to the bed.

Their eyes met and she smiled softly at the hopeful look Emma gave. "In order to take on a familiar form, to seduce her victim and feed from them, a succubus needs to know who he or she desires." She paused, tugging a lower lip between teeth and with another sigh, she admitted, "And against my better judgment, as this has forced you to reveal that I am that person for you, then you should know that you are that person for me."

* * *

**Author Note:** I would like to promise these will get longer rather than shorter, as they seem to be getting, but honestly; I'm just writing in the moment and I kinda had to end the chapter here. I had no idea everything would happen this quickly. Throw me some suggestions if you want, maybe I'll get inspired and the next one will be longer.


	4. Chapter 4

**Author Note: **Technically, a scene _was_ skipped in the last chapter; a shared dream between Emma and Regina. If I change the rating, which lets be honest; I most likely will, I want their first time to be more meaningful than succubae-induced dreams, so I didn't skip over the scene to deprive you all of smut, I just want to leave the gratuitous kind out of it.

**On a chapter-related note:** Unlike the previous ones, this chapter starts where #3 ended.

* * *

"Son of a…" Emma growled as she threw herself backwards, head thumping against the mattress. She glared up at the ceiling. Unrequited feelings were easy, requited feelings were great but forced confessions of said feelings; those were so far beyond uncool, she wanted to punch something—or someone. "When we find this succubitch, I'm going to kick her ass."

"Not exactly the reaction I was expecting," Regina stated, tone blank as she stood from the bed. Emma raised her head and frowned. "I'm sure I can find the ingredients for a forgetting potion when we-"

"What," Emma interrupted, "the hell are you talking about?" Regina turned away and Emma shot up from her position on the bed, latching on to her wrist as she failed to make sense of what Regina was saying. "I'm serious, what? Why would we need a forgetting potion?"

"I assumed your outburst is because you wanted how we feel to remain hidden," Regina tried to hiss, but the words came out choked and as emerald eyes widened, she ripped her hand from the blonde's grasp and stormed over to the door.

"Hey!" Emma cried out and Regina suddenly found herself turning, back hitting the door with hands gripping her shoulders lightly. "That has absolutely nothing to do with why I want to break a chair over that…" Emma growled again and shook her head. "I am happy—very happy, that you share my feelings; I am _not _happy that someone decided to take the choice to tell each other from us."

"Oh." Regina closed her eyes and Emma winced as her head thudded against solid wood.

"Yeah," she chuckled and released her hold, clearing her throat as she stepped back. She rubbed her neck sheepishly and offered a small smile when Regina opened her eyes again. "I'm sorry; you know I don't think things through before I say them. I mean, I'm pretty sure I wasn't all that good at hiding how I felt to begin with, but I was never sure if you returned my feelings and I love that we're friends, Regina. I was okay, if that's all we could be and now I know it's not, but you probably weren't ready to admit that and that... sucks."

"And you were?"

Emma shrugged. "I tend to accept things as they are, not as they were or as they could be." She tilted her head, wondering if that made sense to anyone besides her outside of her head, and then tried again to be sure. "I can tell when you're being honest with me, but that's as far my read on you goes. You seemed happy with the relationship we had, so I wasn't going to ruin that by asking for more."

"You're not the open book you seem to think you are." Regina pushed from the door and walked back to the bed where she sat, looking to the blonde as she spoke. "You are, however, the idiot I know you are. I flirted with you, Emma—a lot. In case you haven't noticed, I don't do that. I laugh at your ridiculous jokes, I touch you all-the-damn-time. For the love of all that is good, I _purposely _linger when I wake up on top of you in the morning."

Emma shook her head, laughing as she reminded, "I am _blunt_, Regina; so unless we're making out or you're taking off your clothes for me, I am going to be that idiot. It's genetic_, _remember?"

Rolling her eyes, Regina groaned and said, "Don't remind me, I already killed one of you to escape being related to your mother."

"Oh wow, yes; I will never again remind you that you're my step-grandmother," Emma agreed and reclaimed her seat on the bed, stupidly placing herself within reach of the brunette who slapped her thigh.

"You said you wouldn't mention my age again," she scowled.

"Excuse you," Emma replied, offended by the implication that she would go back on her word, and a little whiny because now her leg hurt. She eyed the hand warily, hoping childishly that Regina shared the pain for hitting her in the first place. "I was pointing out the possibility some would consider a romantic entanglement between us as incestuous activity…" She snickered at Regina's grimace before adding, "But yes, I suppose calling you a grandmother does make you sound ancient."

"Again, you are an idiot and I'm going to pretend this conversation never happened." Emma bit her lip as Regina grabbed her thigh, feeling the nails through leather as the brunette leaned into her and stated, "You are going to stay here, while I go and find us something to eat. Then _we _will figure out what to do about this succubus trying to claim what is rightfully _mine._"

Her breathing shallowed with their proximity and Emma swallowed the lump in her throat, eyes suddenly dark as she sank her teeth in deeper and nodded—whether in understanding, agreement or both; she didn't know. Regina leaned in further and Emma's eyes closed of their own accord as she felt the soft brush of lips against her cheek.

"I'll be back soon," Regina murmured, her weight lifting from the bed before Emma heard the sound of the door opening and closing. Falling back to the mattress, she released a rush of air from her lungs as she flung an arm across her eyes and settled a hand on her knotted stomach.

Their association had started to change during the trip to Neverland, and that was when she noticed her feelings for the brunette were changing right along with them. She had always thought Regina attractive with her perfectly coifed hair, form-fitting power suits and designer fuck-me heels. During their time spent traipsing through the jungle—fending off Killian's advances, and then Neal's—Emma had had to admit to herself the exact reason neither of them were who she wanted.

Henry had gone from, "He's my son." And, "No he's mine." To being, "Our son." Regina had shown _concern _whenever Emma brought up her life previous to Storybrooke and despite the insistence that her magic was borne from anger, Emma had learned to control it once she realised love was what fuelled hers. She saved both men vying for her attention with just the thought of the woman who drove her crazy on the best of days and if that wasn't a bright flashing neon sign that screamed: **Take my heart, you gorgeous she-devil**, she didn't know what was.

On their return to Storybrooke, she had let both men down gently, claiming there was another she was interested in, though she never bothered to tell them who and after a while, they stopped asking. Then of course, Rumplestiltskin had revealed they could all go home if Regina voluntarily reversed the curse. Emma didn't want to leave _her _world but she wanted her family, wanted to remain a part of her son's life, so she had agreed to come with them and with a small alteration from the imp to include Henry and Killian; they appeared in the Enchanted Forest a mere week after Neverland.

It took time to convince herself nothing would happen between her and Regina, and when she'd made some progress on that front, their adventures began…

* * *

_"Emma, are you busy?" Snow called sweetly from the doorway and Emma glanced up at her._

_"No," she replied with a shake of her head, placing the book in her hands beside her as she gave her mother her undivided attention. "Why?"_

_"There is something that I would like you to consider," she said and Emma nodded for her to continue. "I know you wanted a position among the guards, but Regina has agreed to be our advisor in all things related to dark magic and because of that, she will be spending a lot of time away from the Palace."_

_Emma opened her mouth, to ask about Henry and how he felt about his mother being gone so often but Snow shook her head, seemingly sensing the question. "Henry will begin his lessons within the week, he will be kept distracted for the most part with learning the history of the Enchanted Forest, horse riding—and I believe your father intends to teach him the art of sword fighting as well."_

_"Okay," Emma said tentatively. "What does that have to do with me and being a guard?"_

_"Well," Snow began, entering the room and closing the door behind her. "I know she can be a handful, but you are best suited to her when it comes to teaming up together and she's going to need a lot of help. This world is dangerous, Emma; I don't believe I need to tell you that, but I do think you're still not quite aware of how true that is. There is much more in this world than ogres-"_

_"I know," she interrupted and gestured to her book, and then directed her mother's gaze around the room where many more surrounded her. "I'm not reading so much because I enjoy it—I mean, I do but that's not the point. I chose to come here with you all and I intend to make my transition into this world as painless as possible for everyone… and I think you might be on to something."_

_Snow's eyes widened in surprise and Emma gave her a small smile of understanding. "Regina and I might argue—a lot, but even I won't deny we make a great team. If she needs my help and isn't against the idea of training me to be able to assist her in whatever capacity she needs then… it gives me something to do and who knows? I've already learned so much from her; maybe she has more to teach me."_

* * *

"Penny for your thoughts?" Emma startled out of the memory with a gasp and ripped her arm away from her eyes. Regina grinned knowingly down at her as she spoke. "You're fortunate I placed protection on this room, Miss Swan; how easy it would have been for your new friend to put you under her spell and turn you into another mindless thrall."

Emma huffed through her nose as her breathing slowed, heart calming its frantic beat against her chest. If the brunette didn't cause her an aneurysm one day with one of her many jaw-dropping outfits, Emma was certain it would be a Regina-surprise-induced heart attack that eventually did her in.

"I do wish you'd stop doing that," she said, rearranging herself into a seated position as Regina offered her a bowl.

Accepting and raising the bowl to her nose, she inhaled and breathed a sigh upon recognising the strong scent of pork. Snow had tried to feed her eel once—Emma banned her from bringing her meals ever again and since then, she refused to eat anything without first smelling it. "Thank you," she added with a smile, taking the spoon offered from between slim fingers as Regina inclined her head and sat on the edge of the bed.

Silence followed, for a time at least. The strange feeling had crept back into Emma's awareness, but it wasn't the same one from the village—rather before then, when the two of them woke in each other's arms. She knew it had to be Regina, except she didn't know how to mention it without offending her or sounding as if she were placing blame on the brunette. It was horribly awkward.

"What you're feeling is my magic," Regina stated and Emma almost cried her relief at hearing the woman speak. Her shoulders slumped, the tension releasing from her muscles as she slowly turned her head to acknowledge she had heard the brunette while she continued to eat. "The runes are being tested and my magic is reacting," she explained. "We need to find her soon."

Emma grunted her agreement, brow furrowing in thought. She didn't remember much about Succubae from the books she read. She knew they entered dreams, fed on sexual desire and over an extended period of time, their feedings would eventually enthral their victims—but she could recall nothing about how to find one.

Lowering her spoon, she questioned, "How?"

"Scent," Regina mumbled and rolled her eyes.

Emma chuckled as realisation dawned. "The rain…"

"…masks the scent and we won't be able to do anything until it stops," Regina finished with a nod and added, "Which is why we are sitting in this deplorable room, eating terrible food while we avoid talking about a rather significant milestone in our relationship."

"I'm busy eating at the moment," Emma smirked and shoved another spoonful in her mouth. Rolling her eyes, Regina shook her head and after another minute, Emma sighed and nudged her shoulder. "Either knowing how we feel is a good thing, or we have a problem—I'm all for the former, so you tell me which it is for you and then we can talk."


	5. Chapter 5

Regina gestured with her hand and their bowls suddenly appeared on the table across the room. If Emma was going to leave the progression of their relationship up to her, then she wasn't about to let the opportunity presented go to waste, and she certainly wasn't going to spend the time _talking_ about it when she had a more pleasurable idea of how to show the blonde just how _good _a turn their relationship was taking.

Emma blinked and turned her head as she swallowed. She tried to open her mouth to ask what was happening, but then her brain short-circuited as she felt the demanding press of lips on her own. Her eyes slammed shut and she gripped the edge of the bed, lips moving without need for thought as Regina laid claim to her mouth.

Twin moans sounded between them as Regina swiped across lips with her tongue and Emma parted them, welcoming the slippery muscle into the wet warmth of her mouth. Regina pushed and Emma gave in to the silent command, no hesitation as she lowered herself on to her back and surrendered to the moment as the brunette rolled on top of her.

Hands found purchase on hips and in hair, one set squeezing while the other tangled within curls, their grips bordering pain as each lost herself to the feel of the others mouth. After a few minutes, Regina reluctantly broke from the kiss and rested their foreheads together as she panted, "Is that answer enough for you?"

Chest heaving, Emma licked her lips and kept her eyes closed. "Sort of," she replied, a breathless chuckle following the words as Regina huffed as though her response was unacceptable. "I _do _have a succubus after me, how do I know this isn't connected?"

Teeth nipped at her lower lip and Emma whimpered, her fingers flexing against hips. "The runes," Regina purred, tongue flicking the indents her teeth left behind. "Evil, magic, spirits, dreams; the runes protect us both—none on the outside can manipulate anyone in this room while they remain."

"Okay," Emma breathed softly, mind floating with the high of finally knowing the answer to the long asked question of, _how would it feel to kiss Regina Mills? _It was intoxicating. Regina was soft, warm and oddly enough, the texture of her mouth made Emma miss bubble gum. She grinned.

"Okay?" Regina repeated as she pulled back with a small smile and emerald eyes fluttered open to stare curiously up at her. "No argument? No seemingly rational theory as to why I could be wrong? No idiotic declaration proclaiming that I orchestrated this whole thing to have my wicked way with you. I'm disappointed in you, Miss Swan." The blonde laughed; a sound Regina always found rather beautiful and her smile widened.

Emma lifted her head and placed another brief, but sweet kiss to tempting lips before she dropped back down, mouth curling with a smile of her own. "Forgive me, Your Majesty; but I seem to be having difficulty with forming coherent thought for some reason."

"No surprise there," Regina quipped before she wiped the half-hearted glare her teasing received as she bent to reclaim pale lips.

She groaned as Emma immediately responded and she trailed a hand from curls to cheek, cradling the blonde's face in her palm as she deepened the kiss and felt the arms encircle her waist. Her breath caught in her throat as a hand slipped beneath her shirt and Regina pulled back once more. She stared down into hooded emerald eyes, the apology stuck behind her lips written all over her face and Emma smiled in understanding.

Raising her hand, she stroked an olive cheek with her thumb. "I don't expect anything more than what you give," she murmured, tracing a path from cheek to mouth as Regina sucked her lower lip between teeth. "I could kiss you for the rest of my life and die happy."

Brown eyes lit with amusement and Regina chuckled. "I never would have pegged you for the sappy, romantic type," she teased. Just as quickly, her gaze hardened and she lowered her tone as she threatened, "But should you die, I will travel to the far reaches of time and space to find a way to bring you back, so that I can kill you all over again."

Emma smirked. "Sorry, I don't think I had enough life points to gain the immortality trait while choosing my next incarnation."

"Your taste in games is as deplorable as your taste in clothes," Regina deadpanned and Emma laughed.

* * *

The rain continued well into the following day, but Regina decided that morning that she wanted to wander the village and try to wrest information from the people there. She wasn't having much luck. Less than an hour passed before she confirmed that most of them were thralls as she suspected—what confused her was that all of them were aware of their state and made no attempt to hide it from an outsider.

From what she remembered of succubae, stories spoke of them as reclusive and the thought that they went to great lengths to keep their existence secret was widespread. Sightings of the creatures were so rare that no one had reason to question that particular piece of information; no one until Regina, it seemed.

Running her fingers through rain-slicked hair, she released an irritated huff. Her latest target had evaded all of her questions, his attention focused solely on fobbing his foolish alchemy concoctions off on her with the telling glaze in his eyes, all the while pretending there wasn't a permanent tent residing in his pants. She had half a mind to give up on the ridiculousness and return to the White Kingdom with Emma, yet she had no way of knowing just how enamoured with the blonde this succubus was and the last thing she needed was to introduce the damn thing to even more victims.

Just as she turned to head back to the inn, she caught sight of someone familiar and her eyes zeroed in on the man as he disappeared into the tavern across the road. _Seeker, _her mind growled and her hand dropped to her side as thoughts ran through her head. He could tell her what she wanted to know, but the question was; would he?

Mind made up, she found herself pushing into the tavern and her eyes scanned a surprising number of patrons seated around the tables. She found him sitting over in the corner and realised he had noticed her long before she had him. He inclined his head and something told her that he had been waiting for her.

With a frown, she walked over to him slowly, hoping she wasn't wrong and that he wouldn't run off. As she moved closer, the faint smile he wore was visible and her frown deepened while her curiosity skyrocketed. "I was wondering how long it would take you to seek me out," he stated as soon as she was close enough to hear.

"You were expecting me," she said—a statement, not a question and he nodded. She tilted her head, frown firmly in place, and asked, "Not Emma?"

The smile widened and he shook his head. "No," he answered in an amused tone.

"I believe the Princess is rather attached to her fallen Queen. Though I find it interesting that you would leave her alone; you seemed quite protective of her yesterday," he added after another minute and her eyes flashed dangerously. He chuckled, holding up his hands. "I did not mean her harm yesterday, nor any time in future—neither of you are in danger from myself, or my Mistress. In case it isn't obvious, we're both quite fond of people."

"Yes," she confirmed, taking another look around at those gathered within the building. "It is rather difficult not to notice."

"She hoped so," he replied and paused as a woman sauntered over, dropping a tankard in front of him before she raised an eyebrow to the brunette. Regina waved her away dismissively and he explained once she was gone. "I was asked to deliver a message to you; your Emma seemed more approachable at the time."

Her eyes narrowed and she waited.

"My mistress wishes to meet you," he said simply. She stiffened as he reached into his jacket, a number of spells flashing through her mind that would freeze him in place, and sighed inwardly upon seeing the book that appeared in his hand. "As a show of good faith, she gave her permission for me to give you this and told me to inform you that her kind are considered neutral entities, not evil."

The corners of her lips twitched and her eyes dropped to the book he held out to her. Taking it from him, her brow rose as she turned it over and found nothing that would tell her what it contained, which prompted him to speak once more. "It is a history of her people. Within, you will find a plethora of information that many would kill to obtain."

"Why give this to me?"

He leaned forward and in a conspiring voice, answered, "She _really _wants to meet you."


	6. Chapter 6

**Author Note: **You're an adorable bunch of little shits, but sending me PMs isn't going to get me to raise the rating before the muse is ready :P As for the succubus, please lay down your swords and glarey faces, it isn't what you think. This is a humour and adventure fic, nothing bad will happen.

* * *

Emma sighed and though Regina appeared to be ignoring her, that wasn't the case. It was the seventh time the blonde had vocalised her boredom in the last hour—a fact Regina knew because she counted each one. Sinking her fingers into the blonde curls splayed across her hip, she scratched lightly at the head in her lap and turned to the next page with a small puff of magic blown from her lips.

The man, who she learned went by the name Gareth, wasn't lying when he spoke of the material the book contained on Succubae, and the temptation to learn things that few outside their kind knew had overwhelmed her.

She returned to the inn shortly after receiving the book and enjoyed a good portion of two hours of silence, in which she acquainted herself with it before Emma had woken from her impromptu nap. She had provided the blonde with the cliff notes of her information gathering, even stating her belief that it was safe for her to leave the room if she chose to do so, yet Emma had remained and Regina had had no objections—at least until she discovered just how intolerable boredom made her Princess.

"Did you know willing thralls subject themselves to a permanent state of arousal?" she questioned aloud as she read the line of text.

"Even you didn't know that until just now," Emma scoffed. "How the hell would I?"

Regina paused and flicked the blonde's forehead with a nail before returning her fingers to the silken mane. "If you've grown tired of how I choose to distract you from your crushing boredom, then you're free to roam the village and entertain yourself," she said with a disinterested sniff even as her nails resumed their ministrations.

Emma shook her head and mumbled something that sounded like, "I'll pass," and then rocked the bed a god-awful amount as she turned on her side. Regina glanced down at the sudden heat against her stomach and raised an eyebrow as emerald eyes peered up at her. Emma grinned and Regina rolled her eyes with a sigh before returning her attention to the book.

It didn't take long before the breaths seeping through her shirt became less frequent and when she looked down at Emma once more, she smiled at the sight of her asleep.

For a time, the book rested forgotten in her hand as she slipped fingers from the hair to outline the blonde's features; the length of her brow, down the slope of her nose, over thin lips and along a strong jaw. She had always thought Emma attractive, but in sleep, Regina found her to be breathtakingly picturesque and—not for the first time—she wished for the conveniences of that modern world so she could capture the moment.

With a wistful sigh, she cursed her mother for not taking enough of an interest in art to force her to take lessons as a child, and then grimaced at the thought of the woman before her eyes drifted back to time-worn pages where she lost herself to her insatiable pursuit of knowledge.

* * *

While they were having lunch the next day, there came a knock at their door and Regina set her plate on the table before gliding across the floor to answer it, feeling Emma's eyes on her every movement. She stepped aside for Gareth, who entered before he greeted them both and made himself at home on the lone chair in the room. He had informed Regina that he would take her to his mistress after handing her the book, and agreed to meet them at the inn that afternoon.

As it turned out, she hadn't quite gotten through as much of the book as she would have liked but considering the nature of the interruptions Emma imposed on her, she couldn't find it in her heart to be upset about it; kissing Emma Swan was fast becoming one of her favourite things to do. Just the thought of those lips on her was enough to cause a smile as she returned to her seat.

"You know that's creepy," Emma mumbled after a few minutes of trying to eat while being stared at—she hated people watching her while she ate.

"I apologise," Gareth said and averted his eyes. "I merely find it strange that my Mistress isn't interested in either of you in the way that I know others of her kind—and even our own kind—would be. You are very beautiful women."

"You don't know why she wants to meet Regina?" Emma frowned when he shook his head in reply and she asked, "Then how do you know that isn't why?"

"No offense," he answered, "but the effort she has gone to in order to lure the former Queen here is quite… out of character and though I am unsure of her intentions, I know of a time or two previous in which she did some… unusual things that would have benefited Regina during her previous life here."

Having no interest in conversation prior to the revelation, Regina found herself sucked in by the comment and interrupted Emma's response. "Oh?"

He smiled at her obvious curiousness and nodded. "I cannot tell you of all that I know, but I can tell you that at one point during your reign as the Evil Queen, your former step-daughter sought asylum in this very village and was turned away at my Mistress' behest."

Regina hummed thoughtfully as she went back to her meal and the book opened in front of her. Emma, on the other hand, found she had more questions and set aside the remainder of her food. "That would have been what, over three or four decades ago? You look no older than we do."

"There are numerous benefits to being a Seeker, Princess," he supplied and she narrowed her eyes at his evasiveness.

"Which you would know," Regina murmured, saving him from the blonde's suspicions, "if you had bothered to read the book rather than skip across to the tavern last night while I was asleep."

"No one asked you, nerd." Emma stuck her tongue out and Regina flashed a toothy grin before the blonde asked, "So when are we leaving?"

Tearing her gaze from the page, Regina eyed the plate between them and then fixed her with a no-nonsense stare. "When you've made sure I didn't waste my money and finish your lunch," she said, smirking as Emma rolled her eyes with an exaggerated sigh and did as she was told.

When she was done, they retrieved their mounts from the stables and the three of them rode through the village gates an hour later, Gareth in front with Emma and Regina a few paces behind. While neither sensed any deception from him, carelessness was never something either ascribed to and both remained cautious as they followed him at a safe distance.

They were used to dealing with people who either needed help, or needed killing. In most case, it was a combination of both while they attempted to uncover an artefact of some kind that Regina had discovered from one of those books that creeped Emma out. None of what happened after their run-in with the bandits was normal or expected, and it had put them both on edge.

Regina stared ahead, thoughts running rampant. She was eager to know what the succubus wanted with her, even more so to know—assuming he had been truthful—why the demon had gone out of her way to help her all those years ago. She had known of a time when Snow had resorted to sleeping out in the open despite the number of villages that surrounded her, but thought nothing of it back then.

_Were our feud not behind us_, she mused, _I might be angry with myself for not having taken advantage of the fact._

Her sigh drew Emma's attention and she smiled, reminded that without those many failed attempts to take Snow White's life, Emma would not exist and they would not be where they are. She reached out over the small space between them, placing her hand over the blonde's knee and Emma rewarded her with a pleased grin that filled her with warmth.

Suddenly, Snow White alive seemed a small price to pay for the two most important people in her life.

* * *

Emma scrunched up her nose as she swatted the leaf that flew towards her before it hit her in the face, ignoring the throaty chuckle from beside her and blinking the water from her eyes. They had barely turned off the road before the rain started up again and over the last twenty minutes or so, she found her arm receiving a workout as the wind blew all number of things at her.

"Why do I have the feeling this isn't natural," she grumbled, loud enough for Regina to hear over the wind.

"Because it isn't," she replied with a snort. Emma had provided countless minutes of amusement for her, so she supposed she should inform her of the storm's true nature. "It seems our newfound friend has other abilities and finds messing with you to be as entertaining as I do."

Emma's head snapped around to glare at her.

"We're almost there," Gareth shouted from in front of them, cutting of whatever smartass comment Emma was about to make and Regina smirked as she urged her horse forward.

The women emerged into a small clearing a moment later where Gareth had already dismounted his horse. Joining him on the ground, he guided them over to a lean-to that someone constructed against the cliff face, gesturing for them to tie up their own horses before he escorted them behind the waterfall and into a well-lit cave. The belief that Succubae were reclusive proved true when she read the book he gave her and Regina was expecting something of this nature to occur. Emma, however, willingly remained happily ignorant and her excitement upon entering the lair was not only palpable, but also endearing to the brunette.

Regina grabbed the blonde's hand, smiling as Emma's cheeks reddened and she whispered low in her ear, "You're adorable."

The blush deepened as Emma grinned, and Regina watched as the emerald of her eyes glinted with the light of the crystals embedded in the walls. Releasing the hand, she slipped her arm around the blonde's waist and as she leaned in to press a kiss to her cheek, they both froze at the sound of an unfamiliar voice.

"Well aren't you two just precious."

A fireball appeared in Regina's hand a second later and she narrowed her eyes, stepping in front of the blonde as she questioned, "Who are you?"

Her breath caught in her throat as the redhead stepped from the shadows, flashes of her mother dancing within her mind. "My friends call me Zelena," she drawled, "But you can call me sis."

* * *

**Author Note: **I realise this probably didn't put any of you at ease, huh.


	7. Chapter 7

The silence that descended on them after the announcement was thick with tension. Emma had to stop herself from laughing at the look on Regina's face—mainly because the brunette still held the fireball in her hand and Emma wasn't all that interested in becoming roast swan. Gareth appeared just as shocked as Regina, though he managed to control the gaping of his mouth unlike her. Zelena; well she seemed beyond pleased with herself.

"Oh dear," Zelena chuckled and Emma ducked her head, stare burning a hole into the ground as her body responded to the sound. She quickly crossed her arms over her chest. "It seems as though I've rendered my dear sister speechless."

Emma clenched her jaw as she felt the eyes on her. "What about you, Princess?" she purred as she closed the gap between them, circling the blonde like prey as she spoke. "Do I leave you at a loss for words as well, or has Regina made good use of her time and claimed you since your dirty little dream?"

"Get away from her," Regina growled. Emma squeezed her eyes shut; feeling as though she was about to vibrate out of her skin—the succubus wasn't the only one who affected her.

Zelena hummed, suddenly on the other side of the room. "You always were terrible at sharing," she said with a small pout and with a sigh, she beckoned them to follow before disappearing behind a door neither of them had noticed until then.

When Gareth stepped passed them and exited the cave, Regina turned and frowned, taking in the sight of Emma's flushed face. She placed a finger beneath her chin and tilted her head back. "Open your eyes," she murmured and gasped when the blonde did so; the emerald of her eyes consumed almost entirely by black.

It didn't take a genius to know Emma was aroused.

A shuffling sounded behind her and Regina looked over her shoulder as Zelena reappeared in the doorway. "Unfortunate side effect, I'm afraid." There was a pause before she added, "If you had claimed her before your visit, she'd be just as immune to me as you are."

"I can't just…" Regina trailed off and her eyes drifted back to the blonde. Without an audience, she _would just_ but then Emma wouldn't be in the position she was if it weren't for said audience…

Zelena smirked and interrupted her thoughts, "You could, but I didn't think you would," she said. "You have my permission to cast a dampening spell; it will relieve her enough to be able to speak."

Immediately casting the spell, Regina caught Emma as she fell forward and ignored another chuckle from the redhead. If she hadn't asked Emma to accompany her, she wouldn't have thought she owed her an apology. "I'm sorry," she whispered but even as the words came, she felt the head shake in the crook of her neck.

Taking a deep breath, Emma's shoulders slumped and she pulled back from the embrace. She could still feel the tingling all over her body, but the sudden barrage of images that had begun assaulting her had dissipated and her throat no longer felt as though someone had their hand wrapped around it.

Regina waited, watching pupils contract and smiling as Emma's determined gaze landed on her. "I know we just found out she's your sister, but I would really like to kick her ass now," the blonde stated and Regina smirked, stepping aside and gesturing with her hand as if to say, _"Go ahead."_

As Emma took a step forward, the redhead grinned and warned, "Your Highness, surely you've been taught the danger of taking on an opponent you know nothing about."

"She has a point," Regina agreed and Emma sighed because yeah, she did have a point and the last thing she wanted was another sensory overload, one was embarrassing enough.

"Fine," she muttered.

Zelena clapped her hands. "Glad we settled that, now come along ladies; I'm sure you both have questions."

Returning her arm to Emma's waist, Regina nudged the blonde with her hip in a silent request to move and they followed the succubus deeper into the cave. Although instinct had demanded she call the woman a liar, Regina didn't doubt Zelena's claim; the resemblance to her—their mother, was apparent. She, however, did wonder why she hadn't heard of her until now and what's more, she was curious as to how she had found out about her.

The room she led them to reminded Regina of her study in Storybrooke—the fire, the loveseats, the cases that almost reached the ceiling and the books that lined their shelves; a feeling of nostalgia seized her heart and refused to subside. She swallowed back her melancholic sigh and shook the thoughts of that world from her mind, hand rubbing where her chest ached.

Zelena gestured to one of the loveseats and Emma and Regina sat, both declining the offer of a drink as their eyes wandered the room. "I apologise if my humble home has brought up unwanted memories," the redhead spoke and their gazes snapped to her. "I often caught myself wondering what my dear sister was up to. Your home in that other world was quite something; though a little bland if you ask me."

"You spied on me." Regina frowned when her statement received nothing more than a shrug. Considering her own proclivity for spying, she wasn't so much shocked by the information as she was curious. "Why?"

"I'm your sister," Zelena stated as though she needed no other reason. "I may not have been able to help you in that other world, but that doesn't mean I stopped caring about you."

Regina laughed, but the sound was hollow. "Yes I heard about your version of help," she said and Zelena's eyebrow rose in response. "A lot of good that did me. Snow White not having shelter for a night or two—how terrible that must have been."

"It rained a lot; I'm sure it was awful," Zelena replied, dismissing the comment as she continued, "Did you never wonder how that bottle washed up on the shore at the exact moment the King took his walk along the beach. How the fairy knew where to be when you fell from the balcony, or even why the Dark One stopped hounding you long enough for you to amuse yourself by pretending to be the Sea Queen…"

"Ursula?" Emma's confused voice interrupted. Regina shot her a look that told her to mind her own business, but then Zelena answered her question regardless.

"Indeed," she chuckled. "She took advantage of a naïve mermaid's wish and played her role beautifully." Tilting her head, she looked to Regina. "How _did _your meeting with her go?"

Regina rolled her eyes and huffed through her nose. "She came to me in one of my mirrors, told me I would find out just how _real _she is if I ever claimed to be her again." She shuddered at the memory and added, "She touched me with her tentacles; it was thoroughly disgusting."

Emma grinned, shaking her head as she took Regina's hand in hers and squeezed gently. "I'll protect you from the big bad octopus lady," she teased and the brunette snorted.

"At least until she sets her eels on you," Regina sassed, laughing when Emma's face contorted and paled.

"You two really are quite the pair," Zelena commented, breaking the silence that followed. "Why you have yet to sleep together is beyond my understanding, your auras are practically jumping from your bodies in an attempt to ravage one another."

Tearing her gaze from the blonde, Regina glared at her sister. _Sister_, her mind repeated. Her features softened. _This woman is the last blood tie I have in the world, _she thought and frowned. "How did I not know of you until now?"

For the first time since they met, Zelena smiled a genuine smile. "My father was an Incubus who liked to pretend he was human; he could have anyone he desired and yet, he enjoyed the game of courting and wooing women into his bed. He had no sense of magic, never crossed his mind that one of those women might be a witch. He spoke of Cora often, wanted me to know who my mother was—tried to make excuses for her as I grew older and started to question him about her reasons for abandoning us."

Leaning forward, she extended her finger towards the ground and as she spoke, the rock rippled beneath them. "Eventually he told me the truth; that he had watched as she abandoned _me_ in the woods because I couldn't give her the life she wanted." She paused and after a moment, shook her head. "When he died, I travelled worlds in search of a way to travel to the past, to convince her of the power I possessed in the hope that she would keep me…"

Emma and Regina watched as images of the tale played on the floor while Zelena continued. "I ended up in a world called Oz where I met a man the people referred to as 'the Wizard' I begged and pleaded for him to tell me of a way to achieve what I wanted but then… he showed me you."

Regina gasped as a younger version of herself appeared. "I realised that if I found a way to the past and changed it, you would not exist. I asked the wizard to teach me this, so that I might see the life I could have had—the life that I had still been willing to take for my own… and he did."

Pulling her hand back to her lap, the images faded. "You saw the things she did to me," Regina murmured.

"Yes." Zelena sighed. "I know of you, because at one time; I wanted to _be _you."

Emma shifted in her seat when neither of them said anything further. She could handle any number of emotions; happiness, rage—Rage was good. Rage was excellent now that she thought about it. Regina was always angry—well, less so since they came back to the Enchanted Forest but in her mind, anger was preferable to the depressive silence.

"Well," she drawled. "When it comes to meeting your relatives, seducing me is a step up from trying to rip my heart out… or at least it was until you two decided to be a couple of downers."

Eyes trained on the ground, she braced herself; certain Regina was about to cut off the blood circulation in her hand as her grip tightened painfully but as soft, melodious laughter filled her ears, the hand loosened and her shoulders fell in relief as she spied the budding smile on the brunette's lips.

When the laughter stopped, Emma raised her head and looked to Zelena who smirked. "Honestly," she said, eyes drifting to Regina as she finished, "bed her before I do."

* * *

**Author Note:** Yeah, my Zelena isn't going to be irrationally envious of her sister; I hope no one minds but fair warning, I probably won't care if you do.


	8. Chapter 8

**Author Note: **Bit later than usual, sorry about that. I got a little stuck on the second scene there, and then got annoyed and rewrote the end of the third scene twice. I think it needs another rewrite but I can't be bothered.

* * *

Sometime during their conversation, Regina glanced down to find Emma asleep in her lap. She hadn't minded at the time and even relished the thought that she could provide the comfort and safety Emma had no doubt needed in order to relax enough to do so. Now that their evening had drawn to a close, however, she found herself somewhat at a loss as to what she was meant to do. She didn't want to wake her, but neither did she want to risk throwing her back out by sleeping in her current position.

"I have a number of bedrooms you can make use of," Zelena offered and Regina looked up just as the redhead walked back into the room. She had made a comment earlier about Gareth needing something to preoccupy his mind and disappeared, leaving the two women alone for a few minutes. Her eyes drifted back down to the blonde, unable to resist the pull at the corners of her mouth as she smiled.

"I don't believe she would appreciate having to ride horseback in her current state."

"Nor should she," Zelena chuckled. She moved to the table in the corner and retrieved a small hand mirror before walking over to the brunette. With a tap of her nail against the glass, she held it up for Regina to see the image that appeared within and nodded in the direction of a closed door as she said, "Behind there you'll find this room—I'm sure you can figure out the rest."

Regina gave a grateful smile and inclined her head. Ignoring the woman's compulsion to constantly flirt and embarrass Emma throughout the night, she was fast becoming someone Regina thought she might actually like. "Thank you," she said before the signature purple of her magic engulfed them.

Emma mumbled incoherently as they landed on the bed and Regina took a moment to laugh softly before manoeuvring out from underneath her. Looking down on her, she had the sudden urge to kiss the woman and after barely a second of hesitation, she bent down and pressed her lips to the blonde's forehead. Emma hummed and Regina straightened, realising she had lingered a little longer than she intended and shaking her head at herself.

After another minute, she made a small sweeping motion with her hand and stripped Emma of her outer layer of clothing. She removed her own the old-fashioned way as her eyes took advantage of an all too rare opportunity, roaming every inch of the toned, milky flesh on display.

With a sigh, she tossed leather breeches to the chair where the rest of their clothes ended up and climbed on to the bed. As soon as she lay back, pulling the blanket over them, she grinned and closed her eyes as an arm slid across her stomach and Emma moulded to her side.

"Pervert," the blonde whispered teasingly, dropping a kiss to her shoulder before burying a head in the crook of her neck and falling back to sleep.

* * *

Eyes closed, Regina rubbed at the tickling sensation on her stomach and released a growl. "Whatever it is you're doing, stop it," she said but as annoyed as she wanted her words to sound, her eyes flew open upon hearing how raw her voice was. It sounded as if she had spent the last few hours screaming for the world to hear.

Emma, on the other hand, wore a triumphant smirk and continued trailing kisses across heated flesh. She had woken, wrapped around Regina like her own personal koala bear and was pleased to note the brunette's shirt had ridden up during the night—even more pleasing had been the fact she had migrated further south than she remembered being and her mouth aligned perfectly with the dip of Regina's bellybutton.

"I'm still not adverse to the idea of setting you on fire," Regina murmured, though she made no further effort to dissuade the blonde. It felt nice; not just the action but also the intimacy that had always been there between them, which had flourished without the slightest bit of hesitation when both made clear they were willing to see their relationship develop beyond the odd, but easy friendship.

Observing Emma in a state that bordered a form of almost worship, she brought her hand closer to the blonde's mouth and traced the contours of her lips with the tips of her fingers. Emma made a sound, whether a moan or hum; Regina wasn't sure, but her heart fluttered in response and she closed her eyes as her fingers received the same adoring attention previously bestowed on her stomach.

"Come here." Her throat rumbled with the words and Emma's stomach flipped as she moved to obey, hovering above the brunette where she waited somehow unassuming, yet expectant at the same time.

Emma bowed her head as a hand slid across her hip, shirt slowly riding up as it stroked along her side before gliding around her ribs and over her breast. Fingers caressed the slope of her throat and curled around the back of her neck as Regina pulled them together, lips slotting perfectly together as she placed her other hand at the small of Emma's back.

Any second thoughts Regina might have had burned up in the heat that expanded between them as a weight settled on top of her. She sighed into the kiss, fingers digging into hot flesh as Emma devoured her mouth with skilful lips and tongue. If she could wake up each morning this, she thought, every bad thing, every mistake and evil she committed—every moment of sadness and hopelessness would be worth living a hundred times over.

When they broke apart, their breaths mingled together and Emma stared down at her with a smile that spoke volumes. Regina felt the adoration, the happiness—the _want_ and couldn't help the smile of her own. "Why did we not do this sooner?" she wondered aloud and that smile-turned-smirk made her feel weak, but in the most delicious of ways.

"We're very stubborn," Emma stated and Regina laughed as she nodded. It was the understatement of the century, but nothing less than the truth. Two years of butting heads, of denying their attraction to one another—at least on her part—then ignoring the obvious feelings that sprang up between them; stubborn didn't come close to what they were, but it would do.

"I'm glad we overcame whatever the reason was," Regina confessed, "but—" the mouth once again claiming her own cut off the rest of her words and her chest vibrated with her amused chuckle.

"Emma Swan, you will let me finish speaking," she scolded when Emma pulled back, though her tone remained light and the blonde grinned, a sheepish and contrite expression painting her features. "As I was saying before you so rudely interrupted—as much as I enjoy this; we are in a cave and while I'm sure she would appreciate the symphony that would no doubt accompany our time together, I would rather we had some distance from the ill-behaved succubus when we do decide to..."

She trailed off, causing Emma to raise her eyebrow and laugh at the sudden nervousness Regina sported. "You can say it, we're both big girls," she teased. "When we decide to have sex, you don't want your sister to hear us, which is understandable… and somewhat presumptuous, really. Who said I wanted to have sex? Maybe I just _really _like your mouth."

"Mhmm," Regina hummed. "That must be why I woke up to your lips oh so close to my mmph—" Muffled by Emma's lips, Regina shook with laughter as she wrapped her arms around the blonde, happily surrendering to yet another kiss.

* * *

Emma and Regina finally pried themselves away from one another long enough to get out of bed and get dressed. When they stumbled from the room, their playful moods, however, shifted to something uncomfortable when face to face with a somewhat frantic and extremely flustered looking succubus.

Zelena looked up as the door closed behind them and breathed a sigh of relief. "Dear Gods, I've participated in orgies responsible for less sexual tension than the two of you," she said and Emma choked on her laughter, the strain in the redhead's voice sending the butterflies in her stomach into a frenzy.

Clearing her throat, Zelena smiled and managed to sound somewhat sincere as she apologised. "Sorry, I can't always control it," she explained and the blonde nodded, unable to voice her acceptance as she closed her eyes and focused on her breathing.

Emma was starting to think that maybe it wouldn't entirely be Regina's fault when she died. Between the two sisters, she wouldn't be surprised when the imagery in her brain, combined with the husk of their voices one day suctioned the air from her lungs permanently and she dropped dead.

Snaking her hand into the blonde's, Regina ignored the obvious discomfort between them all and looked around. She frowned. "This isn't the room we were in last night," she said; a mix of confusion and amusement colouring her words.

"Yes well," Zelena floundered for a moment for an explanation, and then sighed a little too dramatically. "I was distracting myself from all those pheromones—can we change the subject now? I think we would all benefit from a change of subject; I prepared food."

With the announcement came the sound of Emma's stomach and the three women chuckled. Regina dragged the blonde to the table that had replaced the loveseats from the previous night, less perturbed by the changes now that she knew the reason. Whenever she had too much energy, she tended to become overly compulsive in her cleaning habits. The fact her sister rearranged furniture, while for a completely different—and unusual—reason, it was similar enough that she understood.

"So," Zelena started as soon as they were all seated, plates piled high with an assortment of food that had Emma's mouth watering. "Now that you know I played my little trick on your scout to bring you here so we could meet, what are the two of you going to do now?"

Regina lifted her shoulders in a shrug as she picked daintily at her meal, never one to forget her manners when it wasn't just her and Emma. "I suppose we'll return to the White Kingdom. Emma will resume her guard duties and I'll go back to being bored to tears listening to the two idiots run their kingdom while pretending to take my advice."

Emma paused, raising her eyebrow in silent reprimand and Regina smirked. "Or something like that," she concluded, smugness written across her face. Emma shook her head, accepting the fact Regina would always find some way to throw in a jab about her parents every now and then—honestly at that point, she should have been used to it.

Smiling at their interaction, Zelena summoned a book to her hand and slid it across the table to the brunette. "Perhaps that will keep you busy for a while," she said. "I believe you found its counterpart a few months ago…"

Picking the book up, Regina felt the power emanating from the pages as she turned it over. "This is the Liber de Lumine?"

Zelena nodded. "I came across it during an unfortunate jaunt through Wonderland; magnificent place to visit if you ever feel the desire to lose your mind."

Emma snorted. "Been there…"

"Done that," Regina finished with a grin. "Emma became good friends with… what did you call them, the Tweedle twits?"

Zelena and Emma both groaned before the blonde started laughing. "See I'm not the only one who couldn't stand them," she said, nudging Regina with her elbow.

"I was tempted to enthral them just to see if it would shut them up."

They continued to talk as they ate, swapping stories of their trips to different lands. Emma mentioned her previous visit to the Enchanted Forest, only to discover Zelena had heard all about it from Mulan—who, the redhead happily informed them, had a fondness for the ladies. Emma made a mental note to figure out what the equivalent of twenty dollars was in the Enchanted Forest so she could make her mother pay up for the bet she lost.

Gareth arrived an hour or two before lunch and Zelena promised to visit the White Kingdom in future. Apparently, she possessed a pendant that would suppress her powers, a gift from an _old friend _that she refused to wear unless absolutely necessary because it made her feel _too naked—_Emma had snorted at that and received a swift smack to the back of the head from Regina for her trouble.

On the road back to the White Kingdom, Regina ignored Emma's moaning about entering into an abusive relationship for exactly three minutes and then snapped her fingers, effectively silencing the complaints with a spell while she took to humming the tune she knew drove the blonde insane.


	9. Chapter 9

**Author Note: **My flow was bound to run out eventually, sorry!

* * *

They were at the border to the White Kingdom sooner than either of them expected. Emma had convinced Regina to wait until morning before they announced their return and the two of them made camp for another night in the forest.

Left up to her, they wouldn't have come back for at least another week. She rarely ever saw Regina outside of the Throne Room—not through choice but because their duties often had them at opposite sides of the Palace, if not in completely different buildings altogether. Emma spent most of her time in the Barracks, along with her father and Killian while Regina was either in court with her mother, or with Rumplestiltskin and Belle learning who knew what.

Okay maybe not. Emma knew exactly what the three of them did together; Regina dragged her off on enough adventures for her to know, uncovering scrolls and books long thought to have been lost—finding magical talismans, amulets or investigating the latest 'monster' threat to their land. And yeah, Emma accompanied Regina _every single time _but it wasn't as though they were anything more than friends then and—was it too selfish to put real life on hold for a while longer and just be able to spend time together without the portal jumping, risk of death and/or demonic possession. She didn't think so.

"Have you considered the fact we have a son waiting for us?"

Emma blinked. _Right, Henry,_ she mused, _the son we share despite never having had sex—or the whole male genitalia thing. _She sighed. It wasn't like either of them saw much of him, he was still caught up in the wonders of Lala Land where his grandfathers taught him all about swords, and magic, and rescuing damsels from Evil Queen's—or maybe locking them up in towers and then gifting them with libraries.

Shaking her head, she poked at the fire with a stick and sulked quietly. She liked life better in Storybrooke. At least as Sheriff, she interacted with the Mayor more than once a week and the only time she didn't see her son was when he was at school. He probably would have split his time between them after Neverland too, which meant she would have seen Regina even more than usual. Fairytale land sucked as far as she was concerned.

"Tell me…" Emma twitched as Regina purred the words into her ear and pressed against her back, draping her arms across the blonde's shoulders. "Why is it that I find you attractive even when you're being a petulant child?"

"You're weirdly masochistic?" she offered, leaning her head to the side as Regina peppered kisses along her neck. Fingers slipped beneath the collar of her shirt and she closed her eyes as the nails scratched lightly at her collarbone.

"Perhaps," Regina replied, sliding one hand lower to rest between breasts as she sucked on the pulse that quickened beneath her tongue. Emma moaned and she smirked, her other hand stroking the blonde's throat before curling fingers around her jaw and tilting her head back. "I'm also mildly sadistic."

Emma gasped and her eyes flew open, the sudden loss of heat sending goose bumps prickling along her flesh. She opened and closed her mouth in an attempt to voice her protest—and failed miserably, evident by the low chuckle Regina released upon coming to stand in front of her.

"You're even more attractive while flustered and speechless," the brunette laughed and Emma settled on glaring at her instead. Two could play at that game.

Regina let out an uncharacteristic squeak as she was grabbed and pulled into a lap. Laughing, Emma wrapped an arm around her waist, leaving no chance of escape and burying her face in the crook of the brunette's neck. "You shouldn't tease me," she mumbled against hot flesh and Regina squirmed as Emma mimicked her previous actions, lips closing around her pulse and sucking—hard.

"We could be doing this and so much more," Emma whispered, lifting her head and tracing the lobe of an ear with her mouth. "Every minute of every day for the next week, but no…" She suspended her speech, tugging the lobe between teeth and coaxing a delicious moan from the brunette before she continued. "You wanted to come home, to lock yourself away in a library with the Dark One and his girlfriend, only coming out when the Queen wants your opinion on which Council Member has the dumbest idea."

She smiled when Regina chuckled, sneaking her fingers beneath the brunette's shirt. "We'll go back to seeing each other once a day—if that," she said, feather light caresses playing across a firm stomach. "I'll go back to dreaming of you, fantasizing about the things I could to do to you using nothing but my mouth."

Regina shuddered at the thought and Emma tightened her hold, lowering her voice. "Then I'll wake up nice and wet… wanting." Regina gasped and her smile transformed into a smirk. "And then I'll get up, get dressed and go about my boring duties while you sit nose deep in your books being entirely oblivious to anyone and anything."

The instant Emma stopped talking; she removed all form of touch and waited, hands on either side of her as she leaned back as much as she could. She watched the various emotions Regina went through, and then blinked in confusion as the brunette was suddenly straddling her waist, the expression she wore nothing less than determined. If she were capable of forming a coherent thought in that moment, she would have considered the look unfairly sexy.

The brunette stared for a good long while—long enough to make Emma nervous at least. "I am not doing this in a forest," she eventually said, though how convincing she sounded on a scale of one to ten was somewhere in the negative thousands, which Emma decided was better kept to herself.

"Okay?" she agreed when she realised Regina was waiting for a response. It took no more than half a second before Regina deemed the answer sufficient and with an assured nod, she grabbed Emma by the collar and fused their mouths together.

* * *

Emma watched, waited, and wondered.

Not only had Regina told the truth about what they found, she also informed the King and Queen that she would be pursuing a relationship with their daughter and that was the point in which everything else became secondary. No longer was Snow or David asking questions about Zelena, and any additions she herself could think to make were rendered pointless by the announcement.

She was thrilled that Regina wanted people to know, somehow sensing that it set whatever happened between them in stone. Part of her had worried she would have to keep their relationship secret, which she wouldn't have appreciated at all. Their feelings had remained hidden for too long and she'd be damned before she let anyone stuff her back in that closet.

"Are you—" Snow started, but stopped. She bit her lip, looking from the brunette to her daughter and back again before she took a breath and tried again. "Are you asking for our permission?"

Regina scoffed, rolling her eyes toward the ceiling. "Don't be ridiculous," she snapped. "Your daughter is old enough to make this decision herself and unless she changes her mind, whether or not you approve of us is irrelevant. I merely thought I should extend the courtesy of informing you of the change."

"She means for when she inevitably fails to control herself and someone comes running to tell you all about how they saw the Evil Queen molesting your sweet, innocent daughter."

"Emma!" Snow, Charming and Regina all shouted at once.

"Too much information?" Emma guessed and nodded as she took in their expressions. "Right well, this was fun but I think I'm going to go and have a bath now. You three enjoy yourselves." She left without giving any of them the chance to change her mind. She really did need a bath after traipsing through the forest; cold streams only went so far after all.

Entering her chambers, she closed the door and started to undress as she walked over to the bathing area connected to her room. As much as she tried to stick to her rule of not using magic for the simple things, she was already naked and the idea of calling in—and then waiting for—the servants to draw her bath wasn't appealing in the least.

With a wave of her hand over the tub, the familiar aroma of caramel and vanilla permeated the air as steam rose to fill the room, and she submerged herself within the water with a sigh of contentment. Regina would no doubt punish her at some point for abandoning her; the thought made her grin as she closed her eyes, head resting back against the wall.

She must have drifted off at some point because when she next opened her eyes, the water had lost its heat and her fingers were in the beginning stages of pruning. Her eyes swept the room for a towel, only she realised she'd forgotten to bring one in. After a moment, she decided there was no harm in walking nude through her own chambers and climbed from the bath.

Moving into her room, she spotted the towel draped across a chair and frowned at its size. Shaking her head, she laid it across her bed and lay on top of it; reaching for the book she had been reading before their little adventure and opening to the page she had marked.

Four pages in, she smirked when her door flew open and the gasp reached her ears. She ignored the thud of it closing and turned the page, uncrossing and re-crossing her legs at the ankles as she continued to read. "Did you need something?" she asked without looking up. She knew if she did, she'd most likely find the brunette trying and failing to close her mouth.

"What…" It was clear from the husk in her voice that Regina was flustered. Emma kept quiet and after clearing her throat, Regina snapped, "Anyone could have come in here and seen you like this!"

"Good thing it was only you then," Emma murmured, turning the page before she added, "Though you're the only one who doesn't knock."

"Emma," Regina growled.

She raised an eyebrow and questioned, "Yes?"

There was the shuffle of movement and she could see the brunette from the corner of her eye now, which told her Regina had moved closer. "Put some clothes on."

"Why would I do that?" she chuckled, loving the way the brunette's voice sank deeper into arousal with each word.

"So I can yell at you," Regina replied and took a step closer.

Closing the book, Emma slowly extended her arm as she finally met dark eyes with her own. Dropping the book on to her bedside table, she suggested, "How 'bout we forget the yelling, you come over here where I can _remove _your clothes and we skip straight to the apology."


	10. Chapter 10

**Author Note: **Rating change, not that the previous chapter wasn't warning enough.

_Insert incoherent mumbling._

* * *

Emma laughed as Regina launched across the distance separating them, landing on her hands and knees above the blonde. Regina grinned down at her, arousal clear in her eyes and voice as she purred, "Well, take them off."

Immediately darting her hands to hips, Emma squeezed gently before trailing them down, around to the front of Regina's trousers where fingers expertly released buttons. Tugging at the zip, she peeled leather from flesh and bunched it at thighs.

Regina closed her eyes, enjoying the warmth and softness of the hands skirting over her backside and beneath her shirt, letting out a small gasp as her blouse stretched and the buttons popped, fabric torn from her body. "You'll be replacing that," she murmured and Emma smirked.

"Put it on my tab," she replied, fingers dancing along the brunette's ribs and stroking the underside of her breasts.

"Wha—" the words dissolved into a moan as palms smoothed over her nipples, hands skilfully kneading pliant flesh as though Emma were well acquainted with her body already. Regina licked her lips and tried her best to complete her question, "What t-tab?"

Emma grinned, teasing a nipple between thumb and forefinger as she answered, "The one you'll need to start tracking if you keep throwing yourself at me like this."

Regina laughed and lowered her head, forgoing a response as she searched for those talented lips with her eyes still closed, another moan vibrating in her throat as Emma welcomed the kiss with a hot mouth and questing tongue.

Emma nipped plump lips and dragged the nails of one hand down between breasts, basking in the soft whimpers against her mouth as she slipped beneath lace and cupped Regina's sex. The sounds were doing wonders to allay the fears she had about doing something wrong, and as Regina pressed down on the hand with her hips, Emma took the hint as fingers glided through wet warmth, groaning as the slick heat coated her hand.

Breaking the kiss, she flipped their positions and released a chuckle as the move caused Regina to let out a yelp. Surprise turned to pleasure though as she rubbed Regina's slit, hips rising from the bed as hands grasped the cheeks of Emma's ass and pulled her down. "Oh god," she moaned, fingers sheathing within tight, clinging heat as Regina reclaimed her mouth.

Regina squeezed, coaxing Emma into using her hips and groaning into her mouth as she thrust against the back of her hand, driving slim fingers in deeper. Heat flared within her stomach and another surge of arousal washed over her.

As she reached around to feel the effect she was having on the blonde, she sighed her approval when fingers found an abundance of wetness and Emma whimpered as she entered her.

The two rocked together as the sounds of their combined pleasure filled the room. Emma gasped at a particularly hard thrust and pressed her thumb against Regina's clit in retaliation. When she received a chuckle in response, she raised her head and frowned down at the brunette as she curled her fingers, finding ribbed flesh all too easily and smirking as Regina cried out.

Dark eyes flashed open and Regina opened her mouth; to snark, to yell, to beg her to stop being an asshole and make her come already—Emma couldn't be sure, as Regina's back seized before the words could form and all that escaped was an ineligible sound of disbelief as the brunette came undone.

Emma stared, lip caught between teeth as she tried to figure out what the hell just happened. Her body responded, much as anyone's would when seeing the woman of their dreams orgasm for the first time, but her confusion left her feeling the need to laugh at how fast it happened and her brain was providing all manner of inappropriate comments to make in the moment.

_And the winner is…_

"Were you a man in a previous life?" Eyes narrowed and Emma made a strangled sound in the back of her throat—she honestly hadn't meant to say anything.

It was only when Regina growled that she realised what happened, a moment too late as she was reminded exactly where a certain hand was. She fell forward, head buried in the brunette's neck as she let loose a whine and her thighs clamped together.

Walls clenched around the digits, stomach pulsing with the magic feeding into her, heightening the pleasure of thrusting fingers and she gasped, spine snapping taut as her own release surged through her in waves.

"Shit," she groaned against flesh, mimicking Regina as she extracted her hand from between her legs. "I didn't mean to…"

"I'm not complaining," the brunette interrupted and Emma lifted her head.

Regina smirked, raising that same hand to her mouth and sliding her fingers between her lips. She moaned as she sucked the silky sweet juices from her hand, all the while watching the blonde's predictable, but no less enjoyable reaction. She would have liked their first time to be without magic, but she supposed the second time would suffice.

"Round two?" she suggested and Emma laughed, the sound unbelievably husky that it made Regina's sex clench in anticipation.

"I knew I was right to think you'd be the death of me," Emma said and lowered her head, tasting herself with a pleased hum as Regina's tongue immediately sought her own.

* * *

Hours passed and the two had fallen asleep at some point. Regina groaned as she rolled over, feeling the muscles in her arms and back protesting the movement. There was no way her body would allow that kind of marathon of sex ever again. She yawned and tried to make as little noise as possible as she sat up, rubbing her eyes tiredly as she glanced around the room.

Leaving the bed, she dressed in whatever clothes she found, pulling one of Emma's shirts from her wardrobe as her own laid as nothing more than a pile of useless fabric on the floor. She was across the room, ready to pull the door open when she heard a mumble from the blonde and she turned, hesitating. "Would you care to repeat that?"

Emma rolled to her back and lifted her head as she did just that, "Where are you going?"

Regina smiled at the hint of concern in her voice and wandered back over to the bed. Coming to stand on Emma's side, she leaned down and thoroughly claimed the blonde's lips, relishing the brief half a second of surprise before Emma returned the kiss with a fervour Regina doubted she had the capability of sating.

When they broke apart, breathless and panting, Regina grinned as she straightened. Her back complained, but she paid it no mind as she stared down at the blonde's expression. "I'm unsure of the time," she explained, "But I imagine it is long past supper and I could definitely use something to eat to replenish all that energy you drained from me."

Emma laughed, lifting her arm and letting it fall back to the bed as she said, "As much as I would love to take all the credit, the fact I doubt being able to even walk right now says something."

"Indeed," Regina chuckled, her own muscles sympathising as she fought to resist the urge to climb back into bed and sleep her hunger away. She bent just enough to brush a stray curl behind Emma's ear and murmured, "I'll be back shortly."

When Emma nodded, she gave in to that other, more tempting urge and leaned down once more. Emma hummed, indulging in the pleasure their mouths fitting together provided them both and Regina sighed, content for the moment as she straightened again and proceeded to the door before her body demanded too much from either of them.

Making her way through the corridors to the kitchens, she acknowledged the few who greeted her and was unsurprised when one of the guards informed her dinner had ended more than two hours ago. She made a note to stop by their son's room before returning to Emma, distracted by the thought of him that she failed to notice David fall into step beside her.

"Regina?"

Charming pursed his lips when she visibly startled and her eyes narrowed as she stopped walking. "Protective fatherly speech, withdrawal of my stay of execution or general genetic desire to annoy me for the fun of it?"

David blinked, opened his mouth and closed it again, uncertain how to respond. She smirked. "What do you want, Charming?"

His shoulders lifted in a shrug unbefitting a member of royalty and she shook her head—even if Emma looked nothing like her father, their almost identical behaviours were enough to remind everyone the two are related.

"Honestly, I was still hungry," he said, matching her stride when she gave up on expecting a verbal response and continued towards the kitchens. "Then I saw you walking the same way and decided I'd walk with you."

"Fine," she conceded, her tone sounding far too calm for someone who supposedly detested his entire family, which Charming noticed if his furrowed brow meant he wasn't experiencing his very first intelligent thought. Not wanting to suffer through the pained noises if that were the case, she spoke again. "I don't need to worship the ground you walk upon to tolerate you, Charming."

David nodded and offered her a smile that said he knew there was more to it than that. It was the same one Emma often wore when Regina tried to omit certain truths or said something cruel, borne from annoyance than actual, genuine meaning. She sighed, deciding to feign ignorance to his apparent ability to see through her as the two continued on.

Arriving at their destination, Regina frowned at the number of people hovering in the kitchen, three of which were taking care of the dishes while the rest merely seemed to linger for no apparent reason. Her frown deepened when she realised her son was among them and she immediately snapped into mother mode.

"Shouldn't you be in bed, young man?"

Henry grinned, seemingly unperturbed by her tone and threw his arms around her waist. "Welcome back, Mom—where's Ma?"

"In bed, where you should be," she deadpanned, though her voice had softened at his brazen display of affection and her fingers smoothed through his hair as she looked up, eyebrow raised in question. "Is there a reason you're all unnecessarily taking up space, or might I be able to get some food that no one bothered to tell Emma or myself we were missing?"

Twin snorts of amusement sounded and she zeroed in on the two Lucas' who had their backs to her. Granny turned as she passed a dish to Red, wiping her hands on the cloth in her hands before she moved. Regina felt a mild stab of guilt as the woman brought over a platter brimming with all manner of food.

"I—" she started to apologise but the older woman shook her head and patted her cheek.

"It's quite alright, child," she said, placing the platter in her hands with a smile. "You two deserve some time for yourselves and if what the Queen is blabbing around to anyone who will listen is true, we're all happy for you and the Princess."

_Of course, Snow White wouldn't be able to keep her trap shut for more than five minutes_, Regina thought with a huff and said nothing as she turned, one hand clasping the back of her son's head while the other gripped tight to the platter as she led them from the room.


	11. Chapter 11

**Author Note: **I love Granny, which is basically the only reason for this chapter. Though there is a _smidgen _of plot there, somewhere in the first scene. Honest.

* * *

Waking up with Regina in her arms was one of the greatest feelings Emma had ever known. It wasn't the first time that it happened by a long shot—In fact, it was a reoccurring thing for them for the last few months, but it was different now. She was able to do more, there was no need to pretend their intimacy was subconscious any longer and just the thought of it had her grinning. She knew if the brunette were awake, that would be the point she turned over and insulted the ridiculous look she wore on her face.

Torn between whether it was fortunate or unfortunate that Regina wasn't awake, Emma was quick to decide that it didn't matter and chose to simply enjoy the moment. She burrowed deeper beneath the furs that covered them, cocooning the brunette with the rest of her body as she listened to her breathing, and in the silence that followed, she recalled the late dinner the two of them shared with their son the previous night.

Emma had fallen asleep again when Regina left to find food, and Regina had made Henry wait outside while she roused her with the promise of more than the kisses she woke her with if she got dressed. If she had told her their son was waiting, Emma would have jumped out of bed in a heartbeat, but the fact Regina chose to bribe her only made her smile all the wider.

Two years ago, had someone asked, she wouldn't have been able to tell them what being wanted felt like. She never would have known the difference between the want of a mother, or son—or even friends. When it came to lovers, she couldn't differentiate between one who wanted her for a relationship instead of a fling. Now that she knew Regina returned her feelings, having whispered them to her repeatedly for hours upon hours over the course of a single day, Emma knew exactly how it felt and she'd never be able to live without that feeling again.

With the added approval of their relationship from their son, she felt as though nothing could make her happier. At first, she had worried he might not accept it because he had formed a somewhat unusual attachment to Killian, but when Regina asked him about what he knew, the grin that lit up his face was more than either of them had hoped for. Emma didn't think she could possibly love him more than she already did, until he stated his absolute dislike of Robin Hood. He informed Regina a White Knight was a far better match for a Queen than a grown man who thought banditry was a legitimate career choice, never mind that he could often be found prancing about the forest with other grown men.

Not even finding out her mother had spread the news faster than a fat kid tearing through a candy store had dampened Emma's mood. Although, as she lay there lost in her thoughts, she couldn't help but frown. She loved her mother—truly and she was happy that Snow pretty much announced her support by telling anyone who would listen but, truth be told, she was also a little disappointed. She would have liked to tell a few people herself, and she knew Regina shared the feeling if the cursing she gave her mother after taking their son to bed was any indication.

"Stop thinking, it's annoying."

Emma's head jerked away from Regina's back and the brunette grunted, yawning as she rolled in the embrace and buried her head in Emma's chest. "Much better," she murmured and Emma shivered a little as the warm breath flitted across the top of her breast.

She tightened her arms around the body, smiling as she rested her chin atop Regina's head. "Morning," she whispered and the head shook in denial.

"It isn't morning until I say it is," Regina grumbled, drawing a small squeak from the blonde as teeth nipped flesh. "Go back to sleep."

"Not tired, I'm too happy." There was an anguished groan and Regina pinched her hip, causing another squeak to slip from Emma's mouth before she said, "Quit it, woman."

"I'll quit it when you learn not to be such an intolerable morning person," the brunette replied, words muffled as she somehow found a way to nestle even deeper into her chest.

Emma chuckled and rolled on to her back, pulling Regina on top of her. The move received an appreciative hum and the whisper of a kiss against a breast as toned thighs fell to either side of her right leg. She closed her eyes despite her claim, soothing them both as she caressed the length of Regina's back, one hand settling below the curve of a backside while the other continued its repeated strokes.

They were awakened two hours later, but there was no returning to sleep for either of them as Rumple broke through Regina's ward on the door and barged into the room unannounced. Tilting his head at their position, he shook it a moment later and said, "As thrilled as I am to hear the two of you have finally gained your senses, it has been brought to my attention you've come into possession of the Book of Light; where is it?"

"If you don't get out," Regina mumbled, pulling the furs over her head. "The only light you'll be seeing is that of the fireball I throw at your face."

Emma stared at the sudden furry growth she had on her chest and giggled before she could stop herself. Her hand clapped over her mouth a second too late and Regina remerged, chin digging into her chest as a brow narrowed and dark orbs stared up at her. She pursed her lips, removing her hand and extending her arm as she pointed to the book Rumple was after, hoping he took the hint.

He did.

As the door slammed shut, her mouth twisted into a grin and she teased, "You are all kinds of adorable."

Regina glared for ten whole seconds, grimaced as the chosen endearment registered, and then sighed as she rose from what she considered the utmost comfortable mattress in that world—and possibly every other, feigned irritation in her voice as she informed, "And you are all kinds of annoying."

"Yeah," Emma agreed without a trace of resentment. "But you like me."

With a roll of chestnut eyes, Emma watched—transfixed as Regina sauntered into the bathing room. "Your mother is a troll, your father is an idiot and your best friend is an uncontrollable gossip," the brunette called when she was out of sight. "I am surrounded by intolerable people; it was only a matter of time before I succumbed to my insanity and started dating one."

Stretching her limbs and arching her back with a groan, Emma chuckled and slumped back to the bed but before she could consider her options for starting her morning, Regina's head appeared around the corner, eyebrow raised and she purred, "Are you coming?"

_Options? What options?_ Emma mused silently. She pushed the furs from her body and stood from the bed, grinning as she stalked closer. "In a few minutes, I'm sure," she replied with a wag of her eyebrows, core throbbing as Regina chuckled darkly and beckoned the blonde with the crook of her finger.

* * *

As the doors to the dining hall opened, three heads turned simultaneously as Emma and Regina entered, the blonde leading the brunette with her hand at the small of her back. "Nice of you both to finally grace us with your presence," Snow remarked as the two came to stand beside their son.

"Isn't it just," Regina sassed.

Sex apparently brightened her mood, but it was obvious she was still irritated with Snow. However, since actual words were a step-up from her usual glare and annoyed mutterings in the morning, Emma simply shook her head with a fond smile and pulled out a chair for her, waiting for her to sit before she walked the length of the table.

"Mom—Dad," she greeted, pressing a kiss to each respective cheek, as had become her custom. They both returned the gesture and murmured their 'good morning' before she made her way back up to Regina and their son.

Henry's head was buried in the arms that sat atop the table and she ruffled his hair as she passed by. "Hey kid," she said and he grunted something that sounded like, "Ma," though she wouldn't bet money on it. He tended to take after Regina in regard to the early hours, which Emma found just as adorable from him as she did her.

Emma settled into her seat on the right side of the brunette, opposite their son and the doors opened a few minutes later. Granny entered, followed by Killian, Red and a number of kitchen girls carrying platters of food. Red sat opposite Charming, next to Snow and Killian beside her while Granny and the girls moved about the table, serving them breakfast.

It had bothered Emma when they first came back to the Enchanted Forest. She wasn't used to people who were comfortable in servitude, never mind people who served _her _specifically. It still bothered her, but she had learned to ignore the feeling after one too many lectures and reminders of how she was a Princess and she would have to get used to it.

"Girls," Granny spoke, offering the two women a smile as she clasped them both on the shoulder. "I'm sure you've worked up an appetite and I prepared something special for you both." Henry's head snapped up at that and she grinned down at him before adding, "You too, little Prince."

He beamed and his eyes widened as one of the servants placed a plate in front of him; pancakes stacked a mile high, drenched in some kind of syrup. Before his mothers could protest, their own plates landed before them and Emma groaned. Bacon, sausages, eggs—her groan intensified when a hand appeared with a cup of coffee. "I love you, Granny," she grinned and the older woman chuckled.

"I love you too, Princess," she replied and glanced to the brunette as Emma rolled her eyes.

"Thank you, Granny," Regina smiled as she stared down at her eggs benedict. She couldn't remember the last time she had a decent breakfast, the sight and smell of it alone was enough for her to overlook the artery clogging junk her son was shovelling into his mouth—not to mention the less than subtle reference to her and Emma's activities.

"You're welcome, child." Looking down the table, Granny raised her eyebrow at the other four occupants who were staring. Each of them quickly looked away, feigning interest in their own breakfast and she gave a brief nod as she sat down next to Henry.

Catching the emerald eyes watching her with amusement, she winked and Emma gave a low chuckle as she sipped her coffee.


	12. Chapter 12

A week had passed since Regina and Emma returned, and by that point, everyone had been caught up on the Princess' new relationship status. Surprising no one more than the two of them, the general opinion was favourable and none seemed too shocked or appalled by the news—not that either of them would have cared otherwise. Snow, however, had deemed the information worthy of sharing and they had tried their best to seem interested before leaving to perform their usual duties for the day.

It was during said duties that Emma found herself thinking over the past week and, as predicted, how little she had seen of Regina. In no less than two days, Snow had pulled them from what she classified as their 'newlywed practice' phase by pointing out that the two of them had jobs to do regardless of having _found _one another. Naturally, Regina had threatened to put her in another sleeping curse if she ever called it that again, but she had taken the reminder to heart and Emma was now paying the price.

Emma often woke long before Regina, who decided on the fourth day that she would return to her own rooms because they were closer to the Library, which Emma wouldn't have had a problem with if it weren't for the fact Regina asleep was the only time she could apparently see her anymore.

Within three days, she was almost to the point where she wanted to barge into the Library and set every single book in there on fire just to get Regina's attention, and it was a feeling that only intensified throughout the day.

At lunchtime, she had decided she'd had enough and marched from the Barracks with a determined look that caused a few curious glances but otherwise deterred anyone from trying to keep her from her goal with their usual inane chatter.

Throwing open the doors to the Library, her gaze immediately settled on Rumpelstiltskin. He opened his mouth, no doubt to voice his opinion of her interruption but she snapped her finger at him in warning and he settled on glaring at her instead.

"You see this?" she questioned, summoning a ball of pure magic in the palm of her hand. "This is light magic," she said. "I, Emma Swan, Guard Captain, Princess and easily the biggest pain in your ass you've ever experienced am the single barer of light magic."

"Is there a point to this?"

"Yes!" she snapped, closing her fist on the ball. "The point is, if you don't stop working Regina to death and let her spend time with me, I'm going to act like a giant child and refuse to help you with whatever nonsense you're bound to uncover in that stupid Book of Light."

Eyebrow raised, his eyes drifted across the room and Emma followed his gaze to where Regina sat, amusement clear in her eyes. "Well dearie," he said, looking back at her. "Were I responsible for what our dear Regina chooses to do with her time, I would happily turn her over to you to save myself the experience of a much lengthier temper tantrum but…"

"Shut up," she interrupted him, still looking at the brunette who she informed, "We're going to have lunch with our son."

"I'm certain our son is in the midst of his history lesson at the moment," Regina replied, unmoved by her performance as she turned her attention back to her reading.

Emma frowned. "Yeah, no," she said and moved forward. She slapped the book shut in front of Regina and pulled her from the chair. "I am the Princess—and _we _are his mothers; we are going to have lunch with our son."

Regina sighed, "I have things to do, dear."

"Yes, yes you do," Emma said, tugging her towards the door. "Things like spending time with your girlfriend whom you share a son with… oh and _eating_ because you can somehow forget the fact you need food—often, it's ridiculous."

Despite her increasingly short protests, Regina proved much easier to move than Emma expected and once they were a corridor—or four—away from the Library, Regina stopped arguing altogether and decided to walk beside her, rather than being dragged along by the hand.

In almost the same fashion she had entered the Library, she threw the doors open to the designated 'school' rooms, successfully interrupting the lesson and drawing the ire of an elderly woman sat behind a desk, whose name she still couldn't quite remember; Wilkes or some such nonsense.

"We're here for our son," Emma said, paying the woman no mind as she scanned the children seated.

Regina stood silent beside her, already having found their son hiding his head behind a book and after another minute or two; she leaned into the blonde and pointed him out to her. Emma immediately moved, taking large strides to where he sat.

He glanced up at her sheepishly, and pouted as he said, "I like history, Ma."

"Yes well," she sighed in mock disappointment. "I like food and seeing my son; so get a move on before I make you miss sword practice as well."

He folded his arms across his chest, doing his best to look stubborn as he replied, "I'm not hungry."

She tilted her head to the side, looked him up and down and then grabbed his book before she picked him up and threw him over her shoulder. Turning, she ignored the giggles the move received, making a mental note to make it up to him when she wasn't acting quite so crazy and walked back towards Regina who wore the biggest grin Emma had ever seen.

"I believe you've just won yourself the award for World's Most Embarrassing Parent," Regina remarked as the three made their way outside and Emma smirked as she felt Henry's nod of agreement against her back.

"He'll forgive me," she said and that time the head shook from side to side. "If I bribe him with ice cream," she added. He hesitated, considering and she tacked on one more, "and a promise to interrupt a future etiquette lesson."

"Forgiven," he mumbled into her shirt and Emma laughed as Regina rolled her eyes fondly at the two of them.

* * *

It wasn't horrible, Regina admitted to herself. Honestly, she hadn't expected it to be but she relished annoying Emma as much as possible and it just wasn't entertaining to admit when the blonde was right.

She looked down at the bowl in her hands with a frown. "Come on, Regina," Emma whined and it was enough for Regina to release the laugh she had been holding in for a number of minutes.

"Alright," she said, smiling even though she was about to provide the blonde with reason to be highly insufferable for the foreseeable future. "You win; brownie pudding and vanilla ice cream is a perfectly valid picnic option."

"No it isn't," Henry disagreed and Emma glared at him. "It is delicious though," he offered, stuffing a spoonful into his mouth as if to prove his point. Her glare softened and she nodded, seemingly satisfied.

Regina realised, somewhere along their ride to the lake, that Emma had been right about more than the odd choice of dessert—not that she was about to admit it out loud. Nevertheless, despite not truly being aware of the time that passed, she _had _missed spending time with the both of them.

Like most that enjoyed reading, she had a difficult time pulling herself free from the clutches of pages and, more often than not, minutes vanished into hours. Before she knew it, Rumple was pulling a book from her hand and demanding she get some sleep before Belle yelled at him again for letting her pass out at her desk for the third time that week.

Last night had been the first time she'd slept in her bed since their return, which was another thing she did not intend to admit to Emma who would more than likely insist she return to her bedchamber. It wasn't that she didn't want to sleep in the same bed, just that she didn't particularly want to sleep at all and she didn't want to disturb the blonde's own sleep should she stumble into the room during the early hours of the morning.

Seeing that Emma was speaking to her and realising she hadn't heard a single word of what was said, she cleared her throat and waited for the blonde to stop before she explained, "I wasn't quite listening."

Emma rolled her eyes. "I asked if you were planning on attending the ball."

"And then she started moaning about not wanting to go, which kind of makes her question pointless since she didn't even wait for you to answer," Henry added, shouting his surprise as Emma pushed him and he toppled to the side.

"Stop assaulting our son," Regina chided playfully. "And no, I won't be going."

"Good," Emma said, causing a perfectly sculpted brow to rise in response. "If you're not going, I'm not going."

Shaking her head, Regina chuckled at the resolute set to the blonde's jaw. "You're the Princess—and the Guard Captain," she said. "You have no choice."

"You're the Queen's advisor, why don't you have to go?"

"Well unless she wants advice on which dress to wear…" Regina paused, smirking as she added, "Which I sincerely doubt as I have commented on her horrendous taste in fashion many times; she won't need me."

"You," she interrupted Emma's next protest, "however, represent not only the Royal Family but the security and safety of the Kingdom; you are required to attend regardless of your dislike for fancy dresses and playing nice with visiting nobles."

She tilted her head as a thought entered her mind and her smirk widened. "Now that I'm considering it, perhaps I will attend; you're surely to lose your temper at some point and I would hate to miss you knocking someone out after they make one too many attempts at groping you."

"Ew," Henry and Emma said at the same time, the former scrunching his face in disgust while the latter pouted.

"Please come," Emma whined. "I'll dance with you."

Regina scoffed. "You can't dance."

"Don't," Emma corrected. "I _don't _dance."

"As far as I'm concerned," Regina said with a roll of her eyes. "It's the same thing unless you prove otherwise."

Emma leaned in, grinning as she replied, "So come to the ball and I'll prove otherwise."

Sighing, Regina waved dismissively. "Fine," she agreed. If anything, she thought, at least it might be entertaining; whether that was by Emma proving she can't dance or Emma getting upset and flattening some egotistical moron of a handsy nobleman—either, or both—would work just as well.


	13. Chapter 13

**Author Note:** I watched Finding Nemo like... 8 times in 2 days when it first came out and I couldn't resist.

* * *

The ball had been underway for little more than an hour and Emma's mouth already ached with the effort to hold her smile in place as she danced with yet another 'eligible bachelor' - _not that we want you to find someone,_ Snow was quick to explain upon seeing the irritation on her daughter's expression. _We're quite pleased about you and Regina; couldn't be happier_, she added when Emma seemed unconvinced.

Emma gave in to the combined pleas of her parents, to dance with a few of the men who'd arrived from neighbouring kingdoms for appearances sake. Already she'd had her toes stepped on, her backside groped and in that moment, as she ground her teeth; she forced herself to suffer through this cretin leading her around the room while spouting on about what he thought of the Evil Queen.

It became obvious rather quickly that the imbecile had apparently been living in a cave, apart from civilisation; oblivious to the fact he was dancing with the woman _dating _said Queen, who grew angrier with each demeaning word that fell from his lips.

"Honestly," he droned on, ignorant of how close he was to being punched in the face. "They should have simply hanged her and been done with it."

"That's it," Emma snapped, tearing her hands from his and shoving him backwards. "That is my _lover _and the _mother of my son _you're talking about, you self-obsessed, pompous asshat," she shouted, raising her fist to clock him one.

Before she could, however, she felt something latch on to her arm. "Allow me," came a familiar voice before a hand flew over her shoulder, straight into the man's nose and she winced at the sickening crunch before he cried out in pain.

Releasing his hold on her, Killian stepped into her line of sight and smiled. "We can't have the Princess assaulting her guests, despite how much they might deserve it," he reasoned, turning her around and shoving her towards where Regina looked on, eyebrow cocked curiously.

"Go plot revenge with your lady, love; I'll deal with your father."

Emma glanced over her shoulder and spotted Charming storming over to them with a look of parental concern. She groaned before flashing the pirate a grateful smile and lifting the skirts of the dress she wore, maintaining as much decorum as she could in her bid to escape the lecture her father would no doubt drag her to her mother for.

Quietly excusing herself from the group of women surrounding her, Regina made her way to the blonde with a grin quirking her lips. She had wondered how long it would take before the Princess lost her temper with someone, and was rather impressed she'd lasted ten minutes let alone a whole hour.

Emma latched on to her wrist the second she was near enough and proceeded to drag her out on to the balcony, indifferent to the looks their hasty retreat garnered them and only allowing Regina possession of her hand back once they were safe from prying eyes and ears.

"This is the last time," she growled, returning to her habit of pacing when irritated despite knowing how much it irked Regina whenever she did so. "I learned about the Enchanted Forest _without _anyone asking me to. I agreed to lessons in etiquette, to horse-riding and wearing _dresses _of all things when attending these stupid balls my mother likes to throw every month for whatever whimsical reason comes to her silly little head. Now, I'm drawing the line at having to pretend to be something I'm not for these…"

When it was apparent that Emma lacked either the energy or the desire to come up with an adequate insult, Regina suggested wryly, "Moronic, self-absorbed troglodytes?"

Emma spun on her heel, expression so pathetically helpless that Regina sighed and stepped forward, pulling the blonde to her by hips as she placed a gentle kiss on pale lips. "No one will deny how much you've changed in such a short time, and for the benefit of everyone else. If this is where your limit lies then I'm sure that both of your parents will understand."

Resting their foreheads together, Emma sighed and closed her eyes as Regina raised a hand, tracing cheek and jaw with the pad of her thumb. She knew Emma was growing restless, tired of the expectations thrust upon her on a daily basis.

Their trips weren't simply about lost artefacts.

Regina had approached Snow all those months ago to request her daughter's company for a reason. She had forced the Queen to promise, under threat of a slow and excruciatingly painful death, not to tell Emma it had been her idea all along, but she had come to notice things about the blonde that made it rather obvious Emma was entirely out of her depth when faced with certain aspects of this world. It was because of her that Snow had finally relented and offered Emma the position of Captain of her Guard.

After their first adventure in which she had listened to the blonde talk—at the time she would have considered it complaining, but she was growing weak when it came to Emma—she convinced Snow that Emma needed as much familiarity as possible. Short of hunting bounties, which Snow dismissed the second Regina suggested it, Guard Captain was the closest position to Sheriff they had in their world and it would help if Emma had purpose outside of her role as the beloved Princess and Saviour.

The length of time Emma could stomach her duties as Princess were becoming longer, and these last three weeks had by far been the longest to date. Regina knew it would be another week at most before the blonde became extremely volatile towards everyone.

Unfortunately, with the constant interruptions during her day and her desire to keep her lover happy, Regina was no closer to finding anything that warranted leaving the kingdom so soon after their return.

"Perhaps you should request a few days at the farm," she suggested after some time, remembering that for the first two months or so, Emma would sneak off to her grandmother's farm. Charming had told her all about the quiet piece of land out in the middle of nowhere, and the two had kept her whereabouts to themselves whenever she disappeared—much to the Queen's dismay and annoyance.

When Emma didn't respond, she tried again. "You could take Henry with you… or Red."

With a sigh, Emma pulled back and shook her head as she said, "I don't want to leave you."

Regina was about to respond, to tell her not to be so stubborn, that she needed some time to herself even if it meant being away from her, but it seemed their time together was at an end as another voice joined them.

"Who's leaving, and can I come?"

Two sets of eyes widened and Emma released a groan as she turned, while Regina grinned. "Zelena, it is so nice of you to visit us mere mortals."

"Oh sweet sister," Zelena purred with a grin of her own. "I would hardly consider anything about you or your Princess there 'mere'."

Turning her gaze on the blonde, the grin became sinfully salacious. "Your Highness, always a pleasure."

"Wish I could say the same," Emma replied, eyes narrowing as she noticed the necklace resting within an ample cleavage. She shook her head, hoping Regina hadn't noticed.

She had.

Regina cleared her throat, smirk dancing across her lips as emerald eyes snapped back to her with feigned innocence. "Even claimed and with your dampened powers, she still has trouble resisting," she mused aloud to her sister who chuckled before waving it off.

"Perhaps there is something in our blood," Zelena offered. "Or maybe the women of our line simply attract Swans."

"I was looking at the damned necklace," Emma muttered with a roll of her eyes, pulling out of Regina's embrace while the two women laughed at her expense. "And if I were attracted to you by choice alone, I'm sure it would have far more to do with the fact neither you nor Regina seem to know how to cover your breasts and less about the blood that flows through your veins, as I most certainly wasn't attracted to your mother."

The two sisters stared; both looking thoroughly amused and Emma threw her hands up in resignation. "Whatever," she huffed before storming back into the ballroom and leaving them to gossip amongst themselves.

"Oh dear," Zelena chuckled. "It seems I've put your Princess in a foul mood."

"Mmm," Regina hummed thoughtfully, wondering if she should go after the blonde or give her time to calm down. There was always a fifty percent chance that either move would only upset Emma more.

"I'm sure she'll be back to her charming self after she's done something idiotic to make herself feel better," she said, coming to the decision to leave the blonde to her own devices for a while. "What brings you here?"

* * *

Idiotic happened to be an understatement as Regina learned that when Emma returned, she went straight for the alcohol and had somehow managed to drink her own weight before she stumbled off to some other part of the palace.

Had Regina not then started to worry, she might have stopped a moment to yell at everyone present for not thinking to have the woman followed. As it were, she sighed to herself and trailed along behind Red who had offered the service of her nose to find the blonde before she fell down a well—the wolf's words, but not necessarily something Regina disagreed with.

Fortunately for her, Emma, and most of all; every single insipid moron inside the palace she would have trapped in the ballroom and set on fire should anything bad have happened to her, they found Emma beneath Regina's own apple tree… asleep.

Another sigh was released, this one both relieved and annoyed at the same time. "Thank you," she told Red, dismissing the wolf's offer of assistance in carrying Emma to her rooms. "I think I can manage that much, at least."

Red took the hint and gave her a nod before she made her way back to the palace. Regina kneeled beside the blonde and attempted to wake her, clasping a shoulder and shaking lightly. Emma was neither a heavy sleeper, nor a particularly coherent drunk and so when she awakened instantly and with a shout of something involving rabbits, Regina shook her head.

"Imbecile," she murmured, placing the tips of her fingers against the blonde's temple.

Emerald eyes fluttered shut, and then snapped open as Regina withdrew her hand. "Oh that was stupid," Emma said, pushing herself up from the ground into a seated position.

"Your grasp of the obvious is impressive," Regina replied, brushing off the dirt that clung to Emma's cheek. "How on earth did you manage to get blackout drunk in only two hours?"

"Skilled unintelligence," Emma stated, removing the hand from her cheek and pressing a kiss into the palm. She made a note to not underestimate the ale brewed by the dwarves in future. "Leroy claimed he could drink me under the table and I had nothing more appealing to do."

"Did you at least win?"

Emma grinned and patted the pouch at her hip, the jingle of coin substantial. "Not that I need it… I'll probably give it back to him after he's sobered up and begged me for a few hours."

"I'm sorry," she added, breaking the brief silence that settled over them. "I actually wasn't upset when I left you and Zelena—I didn't mean to… do anything quite this stupid."

"Yes well, it seems that despite my naïve decision to leave you alone; I may have some good news for you. Zelena is looking to relocate her home, as the villagers she's been using are out of time and she would like us to help her..."

"Yeah, I'm not helping the succubitch find more thralls," Emma interrupted and tried to stand.

Regina grabbed her hand and tugged her back down, causing her to wince as her backside hit the ground. "Before you dismiss her request, I want you to read the book she gave me; _then _decide," the brunette growled. "Also consider that it will get you away from _here _for a few days. Killian and I won't be able to save everyone from your temper forever."

Emma sighed. "Fine—can I get up now? It's cold and my ass hurts."

"If you agree to stop being a petulant child for the remainder of the night, perhaps I might offer to spend the rest of it warming you up with a nice massage."

Pursing her lips as she stood, Emma tried to not giggle at the thought that entered her head but as it slipped free regardless, she gave up and whispered, "Regina's gonna touch the butt."

With a huff of exasperation, Regina spun and began to walk away, unable to stifle her own laugh as Emma did her best imitation of a dying whale and shouted, "Cooome baaack!"


End file.
